A Shinobi’s Decision
by riderofdragons
Summary: AU After Rescue Sasuke Arc. There are many things about being a ninja they don't teach at the academy. Naruto is slowly learning these lessons thanks to his friends. And what does this new boy truly want of Naruto and the others. Eventual NaHi SasSak
1. Days Gone Past

EDIT: I give up, you all wore me down. The pairings are NaruHina and SasuSaku. It will be a long and bumpy road to get to that point though, so don't expect instant mushyness.

OOOOO

Rider: Yo! How you all doing? I'm your host for this story and…

Star: Did you not sleep or something?

Rider: Insomnia does occasionally have it's advantages.

Wraiths: What happened to my Red Bull?

Rider: Anyway…Um…Damn, used all my playful banter in my other opening. Oh well. Quick note on this story, time line wise it takes place during the filler hell. I figure if the guys who write the real story can give us 100+ episodes of filler, it's fair game. Also, this story will be slightly AU, so if you don't like that kind of story you have been warned. Third, I'm writing under the, possibly false, assumption that readers are up to date with the manga, ie chapter 300+. Seeing as this may not be the case for all people I will try to relay spoiler warnings for those people who aren't, but odds are I will forget a good portion of them. So, secondary warning their may be spoilers it you are not up to date. You have been warned. This is basically a prologue chapter to set things up and this is my first Naruto work so it's a bit of a shift from my comfort zone of _Love Hina_. As such any and all critiques will be most helpful and appreciated to improve future chapters. That said, pairings are not even close to decided yet…so don't ask.

Star: Do you want to read the fine print on the back of my credit card while you're at it?

Rider: (Glares at Star) Where's Itachi? (Star runs away) That's better. Enjoy the story everyone. See you at the end.

OOOOO

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form. I wish that I did, but it is not to be.

OOOOO

A Shinobi's Decision

Chapter One - Days Gone Past

They were waiting for him at the gate at the far side of the village. He nodded to the first ever so slightly as he took the provisions she held out to him.

"Are you certain that you must go?"

He nodded once again. He could hear the small amount of concern in her voice, but only because he knew what to listen for. To anyone else she would have sounded completely emotionless. "I am."

"Allow me to come with you." Her voice again nearly flat in tone.

His reply was a single shake of his head as he turned away. He placed the items she had given him into his hip pouch and continued toward the village gate. His gaze shifted to the second person at the gate line. His movement ceased as he came in line with her.

She looked down at the ground. "I don't want you to go."

He closed his eyes, nodded once, and continued to walk.

Her fists clenched as she spun to follow after him. She felt a strong hand grab her wrist and looked up at her friend. Tears began to fill her eyes as she twisted out of the older girl's grip. She ran after the boy, but he was already lost from sight. "I hate you." She whispered softly.

"I hate you!"

00000

"Damn it." Naruto muttered as he walked home. "_Obaa-chan_ tricked me again. Promising me a mission worthy of a future Hokage, then giving me a lousy babysitting job." He rubbed his head where the three children had been pulling his hair. "I hope the stupid fox's power regenerates hair as well. Sakura-_chan_ will never go out with me if I have bald spots." Even as he said the words he regretted it, it pulled up memories of the recent months.

The attack by Sound and Sand had left Konoha with significant losses. In the confusion of the attack, the Sound Four had come and taken Sasuke. Naruto had tracked Sasuke down and fought him at the waterfall, the place known as the Battle of the End. The irony of the name forced a small, sad, smile to Naruto's lips. Following his failure to defeat Sasuke and return him home, he'd had to face Sakura. She hadn't blamed him for the failure. She hadn't blamed him for losing Sasuke to Orochimaru. She hadn't blamed him for failing to live up to his promise to her. She had smiled at him, happy just to see him alive.

"Still…" He stopped for a moment and looked at the sky. "All that pain I saw in her eyes. It was because of my failure." He reached out to the sky and slowly closed his fist. "I made her a promise of a lifetime to get Sasuke back. I will keep that promise." He looked back down to the road and resumed his walk. "I need to get stronger first though. Hurry up and come back, Ero-sennin. I need you to train me."

Before long he spotted someone else on the road who seemed to be heading in the direction of Konoha. He quickened his pace to catch up to the figure. As he came closer, he could see it was a boy about his age.

The boy carried a light pack on his back complete with a small bedroll. He was dressed simply in a pair of dark green shorts and a black sleeveless shirt. He was fair skinned and had a what would be best described as a farmer's build. He turned as Naruto called to him, revealing his green eyes. His hair had looked black from behind, but his bangs could now be seen to be a striking pink in contrast. "Oh, hello there."

Naruto came up along side the boy. "Hey! Where you headed?"

The boy laughed nervously. "Well, I seem to have gotten a bit lost." He stopped as he spotted Naruto's forehead protector. "Hey…You wouldn't be from _Konohagakure_ are you?"

"Of course!" Naruto exclaimed loudly. "I'm the number one ninja in all of Konoha! Remember the name! Uzumaki Naruto! Future Hokage!"

The boy blinked at the sudden outburst. "Uzumaki…Naruto?"

Naruto nodded. "Yep! Have you heard of me?"

The boy nodded. "Yes, though…"

"Though?"

"I thought you'd be…" The boy brought his hand up and marked a line in the air. "Taller."

"Eh?!" Naruto face faulted before quickly springing back up. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

The boy smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry. I passed through Wave Country a few days ago. I believe the bridge was similarly named." He shrugged his shoulders. "Every villager's tale varied quite a bit, so I'm not sure of the exact story, but they all referred to a great ninja who saved their village."

Naruto blinked in surprise. "They named the bridge after me?" He jumped around in excitement. "That's amazing! Wait until I tell everyone at home! I'll be famous!"

The boy laughed nervously. "Well then…"

"But they're never going to believe me." Naruto continued to think aloud as he ignored the boy's confused expression. "You can come with me right? You'll tell them what you saw, won't you?" Naruto grabbed the boy's wrist and began to run towards Konoha at full speed. "With you there to prove it they'll have to believe me! And then Sakura-chan will have to admit that I'm a great ninja!"

"Na-Naruto-san…_dame_…" Called the boy weakly.

Naruto did indeed stop and looked back over his shoulder. He sweat dropped as he looked down at the bruised and bloody face of the boy who had just been dragged along the road behind them. Naruto quickly helped the boy to his feet. "_Gomen-ne_. I guess it's been a while since I've hung out with people who aren't ninjas. I thought you'd be able to keep up behind me."

The boy rubbed his face as he tried to wipe away the dirt and faint traces of blood, but only succeeded in smearing both further. A small grin turned his lips. "It's ok, I finally got a taste of what it's like to move at a ninja's speed."

"What do you mean?" Asked Naruto as he handed the boy his water bottle.

The boy poured some of the water into his hand and rinsed his face. "I wanted to be a ninja when I was little, but I went into the family business instead." He stood and handed back the water bottle. "I never imagined ninja could move so fast."

Naruto grinned. "So, uh, would you mind coming to Konoha with me to tell my friends about the bridge?"

"I don't mind." The boy nodded in agreement. "I was actually trying to find your village when I lost my map."

The blonde shinobi blinked. "You were looking for Konoha? How come?"

The other boy laughed nervously. "Well you see…I have to repay a debt that's long over due."

Naruto began to laugh. "Tsunade-_obaa-chan_ must have gambling debts to pay off if she's finally calling in old payments." He turned and began to walk. "Come on I'll show you the way."

The boy nodded and followed after the blonde. "_Domo._"

OOOOO

Sakura stared down at the numerous medical books that Tsunade had assigned her to read. For a brief moment, she almost regret the fact that she was a some supposed med-nin prodigy. She sighed and shook her head. "Don't think like that. You have a lot of work to do if you're going to help bring Sasuke back. It's not fair to expect Naruto to do all of the work." She looked down back at the text book and watched as the text began to blur.

"Don't forget that taking a break once and a while is just as important as actually studying." Called a voice.

Sakura turned as someone came up the stairs. "Shizune-_sempai_. What are you doing up here?"

Shizune smiled and lifted a tray with tea into view. "You and Tsunade-sama share many characteristics, but your work ethic is not one of them." She laughed lightly. "I just woke her up in her office, and I figured you'd still be hard at work from when you came in this morning."

Sakura laughed lightly as well as her stomach growled. "I guess I have been at it awhile." She cleared some of the books out of the way and made room for the tray to be set down. She was happy to see that not only had Shizune brought tea, but some small sandwiches as well. "Thanks for looking out for me Sempai."

Shizune smiled. "So what were you working on?" The pink hair kunoichi passed over one of the texts as she reached for a sandwich. "The effects of chakra on non-regenerative tissues?"

The younger girl nodded. "I've been looking at the differences between tissues that are able to undergo regeneration verses non-regenerative tissues. But, I've been wondering, if the chakra was molded into an elemental form that was suited to that tissue wouldn't it condition the cells as they grow to induce regeneration?"

Shizune stared at the girl a moment. She herself had been training for almost two years before she had begun to ask such questions. It wouldn't be long before she and Sakura were at the same level, and not long after that, Tsunade's. "It's not as simple as that. It depends on the extent of damage to an area really."

Sakura sipped her tea and raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

"Think of it this way." Shizune flipped through the textbook and pointed to one of the diagrams. "Nerve tissues don't regenerate, however, they have a high affinity for lightning-type chakra."

"So, if the nerves are only slightly damaged they will still provide enough of a conduit for the electricity in the chakra…" Ideas slowly came to light within Sakura's mind. "The transmission of the electricity will basically drag the healing chakra along with it forcing the tissue into a state of regeneration." Her eyes lit as endless applications began to form in her head. "If the damage is too extensive however, neither chakra type will move and no regenerative effects will take place." Sakura hastily finished her meal and opened a four new books and a series of scrolls. "_Arigatou_ _Sempai_. That makes things much clearer."

Shizune nodded and gathered up the dirty dishes onto the tray. She studied Sakura from the top of the stairs. She almost laughed at how the young apprentice's eyes darted from source to source taking everything in at once. She moved down the steps as quietly as she could. "She's going to be a force to be reckoned with as she gets older."

OOOOO

"Akamaru! _Juujin Bunshin no jutsu_!" Kiba called out to his partner as he prepared to attack. There was a puff of smoke and two feral looking Kibas now stood ready. "_Garou Ga!_"

Hinata swallowed hard as her teammates came spinning at her at incredible speeds. "_Byakugan_!" The world slowed and she could see the rotations of both attackers. Her hands fell into the positions she had learned ever since she was a little girl. She forced her arms to stop shaking as chakra began to center in her palms. "_Juuken_!" Her palm extended and struck the first target before spinning and releasing her other palm into her second attacker. Her eyes went wide as both of the clones dissolved into thousands of black insects. "_Kikai bunshin_?"

The young Hyuuga heiress barely manage to roll out of the way as the real Kiba attacked her from behind. Leaping backwards she threw three kunai, two of which held Kiba and Akamaru at bay while the other forced Shino out from hiding in her blind spot. "When did they switch the jutsus?" She quickly scanned through the training ground. "And where is Kurenai-sensei?"

Kiba charged again. "Let's go Akamaru!"

Shino raised his arms and thousands of insects began to fill the air. "_Kikai_."

Hinata braced herself for the two attacks. Akamaru was first to enter her attack range. She hated the idea of hurting the little dog, but she had to treat this as an actual mission. A focused chakra punch landed to the canine's abdomen effectively incapacitated him as she turned to face Kiba.

She flipped back to avoid his fist but walked right into Shino's destruction bugs. The insects hit her like a battering ram in the back. For a moment she panicked. She had seen the effects of people on whom the _kikai_ had fed. She felt her muscles begin to weaken as her chakra was eaten away. She focused the way her cousin and father had taught her. "_Hakke Shou Kaiten_!" Chakra poured from her body as she began to spin, forming a protective sphere around her that repelled both Shino's bugs and Kiba's attack. The jutsu ended nearly as quickly as it began and Hinata stood ready for a new attack, but her breathing was labored. The technique was a trademark of her family, but she didn't have the control that Neji and her father had. She was still new to using it and she had used far to much chakra performing it.

She leapt back as flash of white darted past her. "Akamaru?" Her voice barely noticeable. The little dog should not have been unable to move for at least another hour. Hinata braced herself as her to teammates attacked again. Her hands raced to her front and formed the seal she needed. "_Kai_!" The world, and her teammates, shimmered and vanished. She looked around and found her teammates and teacher on the far side of the training grounds.

Kurenai clicked her watch and smiled. "One minute twenty-seven seconds. Excellent work Hinata-chan."

Hinata smiled, but it was short lived. "I should have been faster though. I should have seen through the _genjutsu_ when the _Juujin bunshin_ turned into _kikai bunshin_. My _Byakugan_ should have seen the difference."

"Geez Hinata." Kiba released Akamaru to let him run towards Hinata. "Don't be so hard on yourself."

Shino nodded. "Kurenai-sensei is a _genjutsu_ specialist. The fact that you were able to see through a jounin level technique is impressive."

Kurenai placed her hand on the girl's shoulder. "They're right you know."

Hinata smiled and looked down at the ground.

Kiba laughed. "Well, that's the standard Hinata response." He jumped to his feet. "So? What's next Sensei?"

OOOOO

"Oi! Naruto!" Kotetsu called out from his post at the gate. "Who's that with you?"

Naruto turned. "Oh this is…" He turned slowly, suddenly aware of the fact that he had spent the last few hours traveling with someone who's name he did not know. "_Ano_…"

The boy smiled. "Daiki."

Kotetsu waved them over to his post. "Please sign you name to the visitor's log." He looked the boy carefully. "The purpose of your visit?"

"He owes Tsunade-obaa-chan money." Naruto laughed.

"Na-Naruto-san, please don't announce my business affairs so haphazardly to the world." Pleaded Daiki.

This time it was Kotetsu's partner, Izumo, who laughed. "You'll find that Naruto can often be heard in the village running at the mouth."

"Eh!?" Naruto's finger pointed accusingly at the chunin guard. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Izumo laughed at the young gennin. "Exactly what it sounds like. You never shut up."

Daiki laughed nervously and turned to walk away. "Well, I'll let you guys finish this argument privately."

Naruto spun and raced after the boy. "Wait! I need you to prove that they named a bridge after me!"

Kotetsu raised an eyebrow and shook his head before returning to his seat at the gate. Izumo shrugged his shoulders and did the same.

Naruto caught up to the boy quickly. "Come on, I'll take you to see Obaa-chan."

"Actually, first I need to see about finding an inn for the night." Daiki replied apologetically. "I'm sure you have to report in immediately. Please don't let me keep you."

"Don't worry about it! Come on, I'll show you were the inn is." Naruto dragged the boy along behind him and in short order Daiki had a room reserved. "Now let's go!" He stopped as he heard Daiki's stomach growl. "You hungry?"

Daiki nodded sheepishly. "Please Naruto-san, I don't want to waste any more of your time." He found himself once again being dragged behind the blonde as something about ramen was said. Minutes later he found himself sitting at small ramen shop.

"This place has the best ramen anywhere." Naruto proclaimed as he placed two orders. "Once you taste it, you'll never eat anything but ramen ever again."

Daiki sweat dropped. "You mean to tell me…you only eat ramen?"

The old man laughed as he served up the two orders. "You kidding? Naruto here's my best customer. I'll be able to retire early at the rate he eats."

Daiki sweat dropped at this. "But all that salt…"

The old man's eyes glimmered with evil intent for a moment. "Are you saying my food is salty?"

The young traveler panicked. "Not at all! I meant from the instant ramen! I would never criticize this fine, wholesome, fresh food you serve here!"

"Oh, ok then."

Naruto began to laugh as her polished off his first bowl and ordered a second. Daiki ate a bit more slowly.

"There you are." Muttered a voice as a hand parted the blue half curtain of the shop. "Godaime-sama wants to know why the hell you haven't reported in that your mission was completed."

Naruto didn't turn as he began eating his second bowl of ramen. "The fact that she called that a mission is reason enough."

Daiki turned and bowed to the young man in the green vest. "It's my fault I'm afraid. He was helping me."

"Don't apologize to him." Naruto turned. "Shikamaru doesn't really care."

The young chunin nodded. "No I don't, but you're being troublesome…for me." He grabbed the back of Naruto's collar and began dragging him from the ramen stand. "I was given orders to drag you to Godaime-sama's office before moving on to any of my other duties today. It's my job is troublesome enough without you creating more work for me."

Naruto struggled to free himself, reaching for his half-eaten meal. "My ramen!"

Daiki waved as the two friends disappeared into the crowd. "Could I get a second order? And some naruto on the side?" He tapped his foot lightly on the ground and waited for his meal. He ate this bowl slower. "I don't suppose you'd consider coming to my home town and opening up a stand would you?"

The old man laughed. "No, Konoha is my home. Nothing would get me to leave."

"I see. That's quite a shame." He finished his ramen and tucked the fish cakes into a small food bag before settling his tab and leaving the stand, tripping as he did so. The small pink-swirled naruto fell from his hand and spilled onto the street. Seconds later a few stray cats had grabbed them up and were running down the street.

"You ok?" Called the old man from behind the counter.

Daiki stood and brushed the dirt off his hands. "I'll live." He looked down the street as the cats made off with his leftovers. "Ah well."

"Let me make you another batch." Offered the ramen vendor.

Daiki shook his head. "I'm afraid I've already spent today's allowance. Another time perhaps."

The old man looked on confused as the boy walked way.

The traveler walked the streets slowly, taking in everything around him. "I almost regret the way we met Naruto." His words were soft so that only he could here them as he turned down a side street. "Under different circumstances, we may have been good friends." With a deep breath, Daiki vanished in a puff of smoke.

OOOOO

"I don't care if they named a bridge after you!" The vein in Tsunade's temple was now throbbing to twice it's normal size. "You know that you're supposed to report in as soon as you're done with a mission."

"That shouldn't have even qualified as a D-rank!" Naruto shot back. "Was it really that important to tell you those damn _gaki _tried to pull my hair out?"

Tsunade pounded her hand on the desk, causing it to groan with the strain. "You're lucky to be going out on missions at all with that attitude!"

"I've proven I can handle real missions!"

"Like the time with Itachi and Kisame during your training?" Tsunade's words were cold and deadly. She watched sadly as the fight went out of the young ninja. "Jiraiya sent word this morning. Akatsuki has moved recently and he's had some trouble in tracking them." She paused, her statement hanging heavy in the air. "Until further notice…you are to remain within the walls of Konoha. The only people who may rescind this order are myself, Jiraiya, and under emergency conditions, Kakashi. Is that understood." Minutes passed without response. "Naruto?"

"_Hai_…" Naruto grumbled softly. "_Wakata._"

The Hokage nodded and watched Naruto leave. "For what it's worth Naruto, I don't like what this means any more than you do." If there was a response, she didn't hear it as the door clicked shut. She looked down as Tonton pushed against her leg. "I know." She scratched the little pig behind the ears. "I know all too well."

OOOOO

Kakashi sighed and glanced up from his book. "Just how long do you plan to follow me?"

"That depends. How long have you known I was here verses how long you were pretending to ignore me?"

Kakashi sighed again as he turned around. "What do you want?"

"Oh, so very many things." Daiki smiled disarmingly. "Let's start with a few answers. Do you know who I am?"

Kakashi shook his head. "Should I?" He paused as he studied the boy. "If we're going to talk, at least release the _genjutsu_."

"I would have thought you'd understand the need for this. But if you insist, who am I to disagree." Daiki grinned as he bit each thumb and wrote the seals on his arms. "_Shinkai_."

Kakashi watched as the travel pack dissolved into nothingness and a small hip pouch became visible as well as a kunai holster on his right knee. A faint scar on the boy's cheek was also revealed. "Why use a _genjutsu_ for such minor alterations?"

"It served to provide easier access to your village." Daiki smiled. "I expected to fool that idiot student of yours, but the guards' response was even more pathetic." He shrugged. "Next question, does it still hurt?"

Kakashi's visible eyebrow raised an inch. "Does what still hurt?"

"The scar on your cheek." Daiki's smile widened as he watched the jounin stiffen. "You know? The one my father gave you? Looks a lot like the one you gave me." He pointed to the scar on his own cheek and smirked as he saw the silver haired jounin stiffen.

"Who are you?" Kakashi finally asked outright.

"I've been going by Daiki recently." The boy reached for his hip pouch and pulled two items from it. "Tell me Sharingan, do you recognize these?"

In all his years, all his many missions, even as an ANBU, Kakashi had rarely allowed his emotions to get the better of him. The two forehead protectors he saw held in front of him now made his blood run cold.

The first was easily recognizable showing the distinctive swirl pattern of a leaf with a long and jagged crack ran through it, the symbol of a missing-nin. By itself such an item would have had little meaning, he had hunted a few missing-nin in his younger days, instead it was the other headband that gained his attention. Upon first glance one would think that the design was of _Iwa_ origin, but the bottom was wider and smoke bellowed from the jagged top. It was the symbol of village thought fallen before it had even fully arisen. "_Engakure_…Naoki?"

"I see you finally get it Sharingan, but he vanished years ago." Daiki replaced the headbands to his pouch. "Perhaps after our debt is settled he will return."

"Our debt?"

Daiki continued to smile. "You took everything he worked for and destroyed it. He defended us until his last breath, but because of that damned eye of yours he never had a chance." His hands began to form into fists. "Without him, without them…our village had no one to lead the way. We nearly vanished completely." He laughed. "But we survived somehow, climbed back out of the blood and dirt you left us to drown in."

"Naoki…" Kakashi stopped as a kunai planted itself into the dirt between his feet.

"I told you, he's gone."

Kakashi was now beginning to realize that something was wrong with the boy. The smile was still present, but it did not match his body language nor the hatred in his eyes.

"Pull it up." Daiki ordered. "Your headband, pull it up."

The demand startled Kakashi. After what had just been said, this boy wanted him to use the Sharingan? It made no sense.

"You want to know why? Don't you?" The smile returned. "It's simple really. I want you to feel what they felt. That even at full strength, there was nothing they could do. It's unfortunate for you that the old monkey already croaked, you now have to endure it alone." He laughed at the confused look in Kakashi's eye. "The knowledge that it won't end cleanly with your death. That I'm going to tear Konoha to the ground."

"First you insult Sandaime-sama, and then threaten my home." Kakashi regained his composure quickly. There was history which needed to be addressed, but that could wait until after the problem was negated. He lifted his headband revealing the crimson color Sharingan. "I will not allow either of those to go free of consequence."

Daiki smiled, oblivious to the fact that other people on the street were beginning to stare. "We'll see." He bit his thumb and traced a seal over his forehead in blood. "_Nikai_."

The wave of bloodlust and killer intent that exploded out from the boy physically pushed Kakashi back a few steps. He could not remember anyone ever possessing so much hatred. Even Sasuke's hatred of his brother did not seem to compare. He would learn later that the civilians and less experience shinobi of Konoha would be reporting to the hospital with signs of unknown illness from these sensations. "I see. You used a _genjutsu_ on yourself to mask your intentions."

"Modify my personality actually." Daiki nodded, the humor gone from his voice. "I seriously doubt I'd have gotten into the village like this."

They stood motionless for a few moments, seemingly evaluating each other. Kakashi had been expecting a fight. Anyone crazy enough to attack a man in his own village must have some level of skill, but he had not expected to encounter this level of bloodlust. By now there were certainly reinforcements on the way to their location, but he still had to look out for the other people on the street.

His hand began to move, intending to exchange the book he was still holding for a salvo of kunai and shuriken. Pain suddenly rocked his world as Daiki's foot collided with the bottom of his jaw and launched him into the air. He felt a second blow to his back at the base of his spine that caused his legs to go numb for moment. The third blow caught him below the solar plexus robbing him of his breath before he crashed into the street. He looked up as Daiki turned his back to him, purposely showing him the single, white, ring on the back of his black shirt.

"I have studied you and this village for a very long time now Sharingan in preparation of this day." Daiki's voice was low and full of deadly promise. "I know you better than you know yourself." He turned and stalked silently toward his target. "Know that there is nothing you can do. Know that you are the reason that destruction has been brought to your fellow villagers' doorstep. Know that you failed to protect them." He pulled a kunai from his holster and held it over Kakashi's throat. "And know that it all began when you betrayed someone who called you her friend."

End Chapter One

Rider: Alright then. As always, please leave a little something if you have some time. Comments, critiques, criticisms, are all greatly valued. Flame if you must, I'll use them to roast marshmallows or something.

Star: (Jealously guarding her Itachi plushie) You are such a dork.

Rider: Meh. Well that's all for now. Until the next, live well all.

Star: Later people!

Wraiths: Seriously, who drank my Red Bull? I'm looking at you Rider and I want an answer.

Rider: I don't know what you're talking about.

Wraiths: (Holds up a small plushie) Perhaps Hinata knows?

Rider: (chases Wraiths far into the distance) Give me back Hinata-chan!


	2. A Clan Forgotten

Rider: Sup everybody? Ok, quick change of plans before we begin. Originally I said that this would be slightly AU. After a lengthy brainstorming session with my muse, read nap, I've basically got the whole story planned out in my head. And it's going deviate from the main story by a fair amount. Just to let you know up front.

Wraiths: Cool, the more variety the better.

Star: Pairings?

Rider: Read the story to find out. I promise it will be worth it. See you at the end folks.

OOOOO

Potential spoiler warning: This shouldn't really affect anyone but, if you haven't read past the time skip there are references which may contain spoilers. You have been warned.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. There are days I feel like Naruto, living on cheap ramen and spoiled milk, but I do not own him or anything associated with his personage. So don't sue. Got no money anyway…

OOOOO

A Shinobi's Decision

Chapter Two - A Clan Forgotten

Naruto had just exited the Tower of the Hokage when it hit him. Waves of bloodlust and…something more he couldn't quite nail down. He looked around the village for a moment. "Over there!" Focusing the chakra to his feet he ran up the nearest wall and began bounding over rooftops. Deep in the pit of his stomach, Naruto knew he wasn't going to like what he found when he got to his destination

OOOOO

Daiki's eyes shifted back. "As predicted, you are the first to respond. Though I must admit you are faster than expected."

"Move away from Kakashi. Or prepare to feel the unstoppable power of youth!"

Daiki evaluated the man in the green jumpsuit silently. "It's bad enough that you're interfering, but must you do it in such a loud and gaudy manner."

A second, smaller version of the first man leaned forward and clenched his fist. "Don't address Gai-sensei in such a disrespectful tone!"

"Lee!" Gai pointed dramatically toward Daiki. "Let us show him the power of youth!"

"_Hai_! Gai-sensei!" The two ninja moved forward in a blur of speed. "_Konoha Senpuu_!"

Daiki sighed. "Annoying…" He leapt back to avoid the twin spinning kicks and threw his kunai high over Gai's shoulder.

Tenten lifted her own kunai quickly to block the projectile. She grit her teeth as she was forced to interrupt the preparation of her own jutsu to do so. "Lee!"

"Right!" The oddly dress young man charged again. "_Konoha…_" Lee was cut short as he suddenly found himself face to face with Daiki. "What speed!"

Daiki pulled his hand back and pointed his index and middle finger forward. "Sharingan! He will be the first!"

Kakashi struggled to get up. "Naoki! Don't do it!"

Daiki hand rushed forward. "_Shinu_."

"_Hakkeshou Rokujuu Yonshou_!"

Lee fell back as Neji unleashed the sixty four strikes to his attacker's body. "Thanks Neji!" He raised his hand and gave his teammate a giant thumbs up.

Neji looked at the prone form on the ground. "I've sealed your _tenketsu_. Don't try to struggle. Movement is impossible."

"It would seem that the legendary _Byakugan_ is greatly overrated."

Neji turned and looked up toward the sound of the voice. "Impossible!"

Daiki snapped his fingers and body on the ground vanished in a puff of smoke. "I would have thought that you would have learned to distinguish a clone from the real body after your battle in the Chunin exam." He sighed. "Seems I was wrong. I don't want to waste anymore time." He began to run through a series of seals at blinding speed. "_Suiton! Dai Koori Kuriputo no Jutsu_!"

"Get away!" Kakashi's warning to Team Gai was to late as the temperature on the street dropped suddenly. The moisture in the air froze instantly and condensed around the four man cell. The ice formed over them and constricted as the temperature continued to fall. Kakashi watched as their skin cracked and split open under the extreme cold, blood splashed in all directions within the ice. He had to act fast. "_Hachimon_! _Nokorimon_!" In an instant after the Rest Gate opened he was back on his feet and running through seals. "_Katon! Goukakkyuu no Jutsu_!"

He aimed just above the frozen victims as he brought his hand to his mouth to release the fireball. The heat of the flame melted the ice, releasing the others from their prison. Kakashi allowed a relived breath to pass his lips. Gai and his team were badly injured, but they'd live. He felt the wind at his back and spun with a kunai in hand. The sharp tip stopped just short of Daiki's throat. He didn't need to look to know that a kunai was at his throat as well.

"_Hachimon_ already?" Daiki asked slowly. "You're in poor condition. Not at all the man I was expecting."

"Don't worry about me." Kakashi replied in similar tone. "You might find I surprise you."

Daiki huffed. "Doubtful." They leapt back at the same time and began preparing seals.

Kakashi frowned beneath his mask. Somehow this boy was avoiding the effects of the Sharingan. "If he really is from _Engakure_ he should have an affinity to fire. But he's already shown an affinity to water as well." He frowned further. "Wind is too risky…and Lightening will kill him."

Daiki finished his seals and focused on Kakashi. "_Raiton_! _Yorozu Mori no Jutsu_!"

Kakashi's eyes went wide as the sky darkened above him. "Oh…" He barely had time to dive out of the way as innumerable bolts of lightening rained down from the heavens. There was no time to think however as more bolts began to follow him. He dared not look back as he ran, but his Sharingan allowed him to see the trail of lightening just before the chakra extinguished. His movement stopped suddenly as he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. He looked down to find Daiki standing over a hole in the ground. "_Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu_?"

Daiki's lip twitched ever so slightly as he pushed the kunai further into his opponent's abdomen. He stood as Kakashi jumped back and pointed two fingers at him. "Boom."

Kakashi managed to throw the kunai up into the air just before the exploding tag detonated. He placed his hand over the wound in his stomach. This boy was smart. Even though the attack hadn't killed him outright, the cut was deep and he was loosing blood very quickly. By adding the tag he had been forced to pull out the blade quickly, cutting himself further and removing the only obstacle that might have held the wound partially closed. If he didn't finish this fight now, Naoki was going to succeed in exactly what he had set out to do. He forced his hand from his belly and began to seal. He hadn't wanted it to come to this, but he was left with few options now.

Daiki watched quietly as blue, crackling, chakra began to form in the copy ninja's hand. "When your attack fails…you will die."

It was not a threat, Kakashi could hear that much. Nor was it a promise. He had said it with the same detachment as if he was telling what he ate for breakfast. Naoki had made a simple statement of fact, nothing more. Kakashi locked his sight on his target and sprinted forward. The gap between them closed rapidly, but Naoki made no attempt to move out of the way. "_Raikiri_!" He felt the contact as he had so many times previously. The chakra cut through skin, muscle, tendon, and bone with ease and he felt the sticky, slick blood roll up over his arm. He looked up into the cold, lifeless eyes of his victim. "I'm sorry Naoki…"

"Not to worry Sharingan." Daiki's voice came from behind. "Body doubles are meant to be expendable."

Kakashi looked back and saw Daiki standing less than five meters away. "Body double?"

"It's a new variation on an old trick." Daiki slowly pulled a kunai from his holster. "I considered using the old one, the one that needs a sacrifice body." He smiled coldly at the wounded man. "The thought of you killing one of your own while hidden by _genjutsu_ seem poetic for a while, but having to drag a body around would complicate things." He moved with purpose toward Kakashi. "Then again, taking out one of your own would be nothing new to you. Would it Sharingan? How are your legs by the way?"

Kakashi stumbled back slightly. The blood loss was beginning to catch up to him. His knees were shaky and he could not longer feel his toes. He'd been expertly played. His attack had failed, and he could not mount another in time. "This won't bring them back Naoki."

"Daiki." The boy nodded. "You are right though. This won't bring them back, it may not even bring me any closure. But…" He shrugged and laughed lightly. "Why bother to explain? Your time is over. Die, Sharingan." He ran forward with his kunai ready.

"_Rasengan_!"

Daiki jumped back, narrowly avoiding the spiraling ball of chakra. "This was unexpected."

"Daiki!" Naruto stood surrounded by the dust. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Why would you do this?"

"Don't ask questions you are ready know the answer to." Daiki looked around slowly. The once empty street was now surrounded with Chunin, Jounin, and even ANBU.

Naruto's brows furrowed in angry confusion. "How could I know why you're attacking Kakashi-sensei?"

"Because I told you earlier." Daiki's eyes continued to roam over his new opponents slowly, taking in all their numbers. "I know you're an idiot Naruto, but try to remember."

Naruto grit his teeth at the insult. "You said you had a debt to repay! What's that got to do with this?"

"It's no wonder he left this village. Having someone like you for a teammate." Daiki sighed. "Let me make it simple for you Naruto. You assumed not only that the debt was monetary in nature, but also that I owed something." He lifted his hand to pointed behind Naruto and lifted his voice so that the others could here as well. "That man behind you assassinated my family, the would be pillars of my village. He stole the lives of my mother, my father, my sister…" He paused as he saw the look of shock on Kakashi's face. "Yes Sharingan, my mother was pregnant."

Naruto looked back at his teacher. He had always known in the back of his mind, scrambled as it may be at times, that Kakashi had killed other shinobi in battle. It was the nature of their life, kill or be killed. Yet, to hear a victim actually accuse him…

Naruto shook his head. Inside him was the most vicious killer ever known. Under the _Kitsune's_ influence Naruto had come close to taking a life as well. He had no right to judge his Sensei. "I understand what it's like to be alone…"

"Spare me _dobe_." Daiki cut him off coldly. "He took my family, my village, and my people. I'm just balancing the scales."

Naruto's head jerked at the term. For an instant he could almost see Sasuke's form overlaying Daiki's. "So, you've chosen to live a life for revenge too?"

Daiki huffed. "You know nothing of the life I've chosen for myself. No more than you knew of the life he chose, _dobe_."

Kakashi was getting dizzy, but he knew what Naoki was trying to do. "Naruto…don't let him goad you…" The warning fell on deaf ears.

"_Teme_!" Naruto growled as he formed the seal. "I'll show you exactly what I know! _Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!" He grinned as he prepared to attack, only to find that Daiki had vanished. Naruto searched the area quickly. "Where did he go? Split up! Find him!" It was as the clones spread out in all directions in compliance with his order that Naruto began to realize what happened. He had no chance to act as he watched his clone punch him in the face. He flew through the air and began crashing through walls of nearby buildings. With his concentration disrupted his clones vanished until only one remained.

"First rule of any _bunshin jutsu_." The clone disappeared in a puff of smoke and Daiki stood ready to attack. "Know how many clones you actually created." His eyes seemed to rotate as the rest of the Konoha ninja began their attack and his hands were already running through seals. "_Raiton_! _Nibou Setsuna no Jutsu_!" His hands thrust out to his sides with the right fingers pointed to the sky and his left finger pointed to the ground. The lines of electricity formed a shell all around his body before expelling outward into his enemies a second later.

Kakashi looked on in amazement as every ninja on the street was pushed back until they came in contact with a solid object. When the jutsu ended they seemed unable to move in the slightest. Not that it was for lack of trying, he could see them struggling, but their muscles seemingly wouldn't obey. He made eye contact with Naoki and waited. He had once shot left, if he could rally enough chakra in time. In his current state he would die even if the technique was successful. If he failed, he would be killed anyway. He began to concentrate on raising his chakra as quickly as he could.

Daiki picked up one of the kunai on the ground and moved toward his opponent quicker now. He could sense that something had changed, something that had not been anticipated previously. The Sharingan's reputation was well established as having copied over a thousand jutsu. There were endless combinations, endless strategies he could play. It wasn't humanly possible to plan for every contingency. He was so caught in his train of thought that he failed to see Naruto attack him from the side.

"Eat this!" Naruto put the full weight of his body into his punch add his momentum to power up his blow. He watched as Daiki flew spinning through the air. To say he was annoyed when Daiki landed on his feet was an understatement. The two boys locked eyes then, neither willing to look away.

Finally Daiki broke the tense silence by spitting blood from his mouth. "I see now why you are called Konoha's most unpredictable ninja."

Naruto would have ground his teeth if he could have, but is jaw was already killing him. That last punch had felt like it had come from Tsunade. If he got hit like that again it'd be all over. He really didn't want to do this in front of everyone, but it looked as though he had no choice. He let his consciousness slip deep into himself until he stood before the large iron gate. "Oi! _Kitsune no baka_! Give me your chakra!" His eyes tinted red, and he felt his teeth sharpen. He gasped as Daiki appeared before him in an instant's time.

"I don't think so." Daiki placed his hand on Naruto's chest so that the fingertips made a rough circle over his heart. "_Ninpou_. _Uzumaki fuujin no Jutsu_." He twisted his hand and brought his fingers together into a point where he pushed hard into Naruto's flesh. "_Fuuin_!"

Naruto screamed as his heart seemed to have a vice wrapped around it. He fell to the ground and clutched at his heart as he wailed in agony.

"I'd release that strange chakra of yours Naruto." Advised Daiki. "Otherwise your heart will explode fairly soon. He turned away as the odd red chakra died away and Naruto fell into a state of unconsciousness. A small sigh passed his lips. The fight at the battle of the end was something he would not forget witnessing any time soon. Even in that state, he felt he could deal with Naruto, provided he had enough time. He shook his head at the thought. He had taken too long already. Words meant nothing at this point, it was time to end this. He broke into an all out sprint toward the kneeling jounin with a kunai in each hand. He broke away as a flash of red and pink suddenly blocked his path. "You?"

Sakura stood between Kakashi and his attacker. "I don't know who you are, but if try to hurt Kakashi-sensei again, I will kill you." The reaction she got was not one she had expected.

"You're not supposed to be here." Daiki's voice was different now. "Get out of here!" Anger over took his expression as he raised his hand just before whipping it forward. A wave green chakra radiated out towards the kunoichi. "I said leave!"

"Sakura!" Kakashi forced himself back to his feet. "Get out of here! It's to dangerous!" He grabbed her and spun her around to shield her from the attack. He watched as the buildings to the sides of their position exploded and crumbled to dust, yet they remained unharmed. "A feign?" His vision at last began to black out, the strain on his body was too much.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura looked back as her teacher slumped to the ground, blood oozing from his belly. "Kakashi-sensei? Answer me!" She checked his pulse quickly, it was faint but present. She quickly formed a series of seals. "_Chiyute no Jutsu_!" A small ball of warm blue-green chakra formed in her palms and she pressed into the jounin's wound. She looked up as Daiki appeared over her and her patient. "If you hurt him…If he dies…I swear I will…"

"He is truly that important to you?" Daiki's voice was still filled with hate, but now there was also confusion too.

The question startled her, but she nodded. For a moment nothing happened. She tensed as Daiki's hands tightened into fists. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes. All her chakra was being put into healing. If he attacked now she had no chance at stopping him.

With a cry that was more of a roar than anything else Daiki pulled a kunai from his holster before reaching down to cut a chunk of Kakashi's hair. "His wounds are too extensive for _Chiyute_." He bundled the hair into a small pack and placed it atop Sakura's hands. "Keep pressure on the wound." He began to form the seals, hating himself as he did so. "_Nohara Chikatsu Saisei no Jutsu_."

Sakura could only look on in wonder as this strange boy placed his hands over her own. His hands surged with healing chakra. Even though the energy was being directed to healing Kakashi, Sakura could feel herself being refreshed simply from the proximity. Beneath her hands, she could feel the wound rapidly growing smaller. She looked over the boy's shoulder and saw Tsunade and a team of ANBU ready for any kind of deception. She made eye contact with her Hokage and shifted ever so slightly.

Tsunade raised a hand and halted her team from moving forward. She had learned that Sakura's intuition was uncannily accurate. She'd wait…for now.

After a few minutes Daiki pulled his hands away, brushing off the few traces of silver-gray hair that remained as if they were most horrid things he could come in contact with. "He'll live. Tend the rest yourselves." He turned away as a team of med-nins rushed in to place Kakashi on a stretcher.

"Why?" Sakura was looking at all the blood on the ground. "Why try to kill him, only to save him at the end?" As she looked up her eyes went wide. "That crest…"

"If you had not showed up…" Daiki looked on at the approaching ANBU unit. "He would be dead." He looked up at the sky. "They will rush me in a moment, move away." He waited until she was out of the line of fire and sighed heavily. "What a waste…" His head snapped down and glared at the ANBU. With a frustrated cry his fist raised and plummeted into the ground beneath his feet.

Tsunade covered her face as the explosion filled the area. When the dust cleared Daiki was gone. In his place was his parting gift, a crater which destroyed everything within a five street radius. "The area was evacuated in time?"

A near by chunin nodded. "_Hai_, _Godaime-sama_."

Tsunade nodded. "Get the wounded to the hospital. As free hands become available set up emergency lodgings for anyone who's home has been destroyed. After that…" She paused as she saw Sakura staring at her. "After that, we'll deal with everything else."

Sakura crossed the destruction slowly. "Tsunade-sensei? That boy…"

"Naruto's been badly injured Sakura." Tsunade lifted the boy's shoulders gently. "Help me get him to the hospital."

Sakura knew full well that her teacher was able to carry Naruto by herself. Despite this, she pick up Naruto's legs and began to walk slowly toward the hospital. "_Hai Sensei_." It would seem her questions would have to wait for now.

OOOOO

Naruto sat in his hospital bed grumpier than ever. His jaw had been reset two days ago, but Tsunade had confined him to bed rest after that. When he'd demanded to know why she had gone into a lengthy explanation that he really didn't understand. Sakura had explained it in simpler terms that his heart had been badly injured somehow and they wanted him to put as little strain on it as possible for a few days. He grumbled and turned to look out the window. Telling him to sit still was like telling Jiraiya not to be a pervert or telling Choji to stop eating. He turned quickly as he heard the door to his room open. "Tsunade-_obaa-chan_! When are you going to let me out of…" He stopped as the person entered the room. "Oh, it's just you."

"Well excuse me for coming to see you." Kiba shot back quickly. "Clearly you're feeling better to give me attitude."

Naruto pet Akamaru on the head lightly as the little dog jumped onto the bed. "I've been fine since yesterday. The medics are just torturing me for the fun of it."

Shino entered and picked up the chart at the foot of Naruto's bed. "Acute swelling of the pericardia, suspected induced myocardial infarction, considerable edema." He shook his head. "Even without med-nin training one could tell these were serious injuries."

Naruto shrugged. "It wasn't that bad, didn't even hurt."

"Oh?" Kiba grinned playful. "I heard you cried like a little girl." He caught the pillow that Naruto threw at him.

"Shut up Kiba!" Naruto glared at the other boy. He had heard the med-nins talking and had pieced together most of what happened after he'd lost consciousness. "You weren't there! So what the hell do you know?"

Kiba backed off quickly, he hadn't expected this to be such a sore subject for Naruto. He wisely decided not to use his follow up about Sakura having to save him. "Sorry man, it was just a joke."

Naruto's expression softened. "I know, sorry, it's just…" He looked up at them slowly. "Have they told you anything about Kakashi-sensei? They won't tell me anything about him."

"Other than that he's stable?" Shino shook his head. "No."

"That's about to change." Sakura entered the room looking somewhat concerned. "He's awake but…" She looked around the room for a moment and gripped at the bag in her hand. "I'm sorry guys, but could I talk with Naruto alone a moment?"

The three boys exchange glances a moment and nodded. Kiba whistled and Akamaru jumped into his jacket. "See you around Naruto."

Sakura closed the door after they left. Looking at Naruto quietly for a minute before speaking. "Are you feeling better?"

Naruto nodded. "Kakashi-sensei?"

"We're going to go see him now." Sakura handed him the bag. "Get changed." She pulled the separating curtain to give him some privacy.

Naruto pulled his standard orange jumpsuit from the bag and hurriedly dressed. "Sakura-chan? Did something bad happen?" He watched her silhouette shift uncomfortably against the screen.

"I'm not sure." She finally admitted. "Tsunade-sama asked me to get you before going to see him."

Naruto pulled back the curtain and moved for the door. "Let's go then." He pulled open the door and ran face first into a bouquet of flowers.

"Na-na-Naruto-kun?" The timid voice seemed scared. "I…That is…Aren't you…"

Naruto pulled back slightly before brushing some stray pollen from his face, sneezing as he did so. "Hinata? Why are you here?"

Hinata fidgeted nervously. "I…I wanted to see if you…you were feeling better." She looked around. "K-Kiba-kun and Shino-kun…"

"You just missed them." Sakura supplied.

Naruto nodded. "I'm glad you stopped by, but we really have to go see Kakashi-sensei."

"Oh…I'm sorry." Hinata moved out of the door way to let Naruto and Sakura pass. She felt her face become hot as Naruto waved goodbye to her as he ran down the hospital hallway. She looked down at the flowers in her hand once before turning away.

A few minutes later Sakura knocked on the door of Kakashi's room.

"Come in!" Tsunade's voice ordered. She waited as Sakura and Naruto entered the room and the door was closed again. "After talking with Kakashi…"

"There's something you two need to know. About the boy from two days ago." Kakashi paused. "My connection to him…and yours Sakura."

"Then it wasn't a coincidence that he had the same crest."

Kakashi nodded. "Does the name Misaki mean anything to you?" He sighed as his charge shook her head. "That will make things difficult then."

"She was your mother's twin sister." Tsunade stated flatly.

Sakura blinked in surprise as the statement sunk in. "My mother's sister?"

Kakashi nodded. "I'll keep this as short as possible, but you need to hear this." He looked away as if attempting to think of the words. "When Sandaime-sama was Hokage relations were tense with many of the other villages and their countries. Many missions were assassinations designed to improve our likelihood to survive as a village."

"And one of the target's were Daiki's parents." Naruto interrupted.

"No, they were…" Kakashi sighed. "The story really has to be told in order. Misaki was a field med-nin, and one of the best we had at that. I worked with her many times and became good friends with her. She was assigned to my team for one such mission. We were to take out a team of ANBU from Grass that had been seen inside our border. Along the way we ran across another team of shinobi from a village we'd never heard of."

"What does this have to do with Daiki?" Naruto asked impatiently.

Kakashi sighed. "I'm getting to it Naruto. The cell was tracking the same Grass ninja that we were for attacking their home. Since we were after the same target we entered into a temporary truce to team up. The battle was long but we finally emerged victorious. It seemed our new allies were from a relatively new village with little actual combat experience. Misaki treated them as best she could, but we ended up bringing them back to Konoha with us for more advanced techniques that could not be done in the field."

"I'm still not…" Naruto was cut short as Sakura punched him into the wall.

Sakura turned back to her teachers. "Please continue."

"Long story short…" Kakashi shrugged slightly. "Misaki fell in love with one of her patients. Through them the two villages entered into an official treaty. What _Engakure_ lacked in experience it made up for in numbers and other resources. Everyone benefited from the treaty." He looked away from his students. "The war went on, and so did life. A few years later Misaki gave birth."

A few minutes passed in silence and Tsunade realized that Kakashi was at a loss for words. "There were reports a few years later, near the end of the war, that _Engakure_ was going to betray us. Sarutobi-sensei…Sandaime-sama decided there was enough merit to these reports to act on them." She paused for a moment. "Misaki fought long and hard to convince the council otherwise, but in the end it made no difference and ties were cut between the Leaf and the Flame."

"The decision devastated Misaki, to no longer be able to see the man she loved." Kakashi continued. "Two nights after the order went out Misaki and her son were added to the list of missing-nin. By this point in the war I had receive a field promotion into ANBU."

Sakura could only stare in shock as the implication was made. Even Naruto was silent.

"I was given the mission of returning Misaki and Naoki to Konoha and eliminating any possible leaks of our secrets to outside sources." Kakashi continued before they had a chance to ask questions. "Tsuchi wasn't about to let me take his family away knowing what would be facing them. I tried to disable him without hurting him, but the war had made him a lot stronger." Without realizing it he lifted his hand to his cheek. "In the end I ended up killing him. Misaki broke down and attack me. I tried to use a genjutsu to sedate her, but her system was so unstable because of the emotional stress it ended up killing her." He paused as he remember Naoki's statement from the other day. "It may have been something else as well, but the fact remained I had killed them both. Tsuchi was next in line to be named _Enkage_, the village didn't take his death lightly. I killed many of them simply to be able to escape, losing track of Naoki in the process."

"Naoki…" Sakura spoke the name slowly. "Misaki's son…my cousin." She looked over at Tsunade. "Then the reason he didn't attack me…"

"I can't say for certain." The older woman leaned back against the wall. "But it does seem to be the most likely reason."

"But the guy who attacked us was named Daiki." Naruto pointed out. "Not Naoki."

"Shinobi sometimes change names for different reasons." Kakashi replied softly. "He told me that Naoki might return after our debt was settled. I suspect that is what he meant."

Naruto considered this. "He must have trained really hard to become as strong as he is."

"His heritage partially explains that as well." Tsunade looked over at her apprentice. "Do you know what your crest means?"

"I asked my mother once." Sakura nodded. "A continuous flow, to move things in a way that promotes harmony."

"That's only part of it." Tsunade frowned. "I'm hesitant to do this before speaking with your family but…"

"Please tell me."

"Simplicity and the promotion of whole." Tsunade spoke softly. "Does that sound familiar?"

"It was in one of the texts you gave me to read…" Sakura's eyes went wide.

Tsunade nodded. "Your clan is small now, but long ago it held a status like that of the Uchiha or the Hyuuga. They were renown for their knowledge of medical jutsu and chakra control. There are many techniques that I was planning to teach you outside of medical techniques. Techniques that it would appear that your cousin has taught himself already."

Sakura stood quietly. "I have to go after him. Talk with him."

Tsunade shook her head. "Even if we could find him, I wouldn't allow it. Just because he backed off once is no guarantee that he would let you go again."

"But…"

"He won't attack Sakura-chan." Naruto stated quietly.

Kakashi turned. "Why do you say that?"

"He doesn't want to hurt her…in any way." Naruto looked to each of them. "He could have killed Kakashi-sensei, but healed him instead. He tried to scare Sakura-chan into running with a false attack. He doesn't want to hurt her at all." He paused. "I'm not sure why, but he could have killed me too and didn't."

The argument was superficial at best, but Kakashi was forced to admit that Naruto's assessment was uncharacteristically insightful, except for on part. "He would have killed you if you hadn't stopped molding chakra though."

Naruto touched his chest gingerly where the strange seal which prevented him from summoning the Kyuubi's chakra lay dormant. "But he left the choice to me rather than kill me outright." He looked down. "I think I understand him just a little. The confusion, the anger, the need for revenge."

Tsunade closed her eyes, knowing whom he was referring to. Daiki did share more than a few traits with Team Seven's final, missing, member. "Even if what you say is right in the end, it's a moot point. When he ran he left no way for us to track him." She looked over at Sakura and Naruto. "We wanted you two to be aware of the situation in case he came back." She waited in case there were questions but nothing was said. "In that case, the two of you can go home."

The two gennin bowed and left the room. Once they were suitably far enough away from the room Naruto turned and looked at Sakura. He'd been around her enough that he felt he could tell what she was thinking. Namely, she wanted to talk with Daiki. "Sakura-chan."

"_Hai_?"

"Meet me tomorrow at the repair site." He turned and ran down the hallway.

Sakura stared in confusion at Naruto's back. "What? Why?" He was already gone however, leaving Sakura to wonder what kind of scheme Naruto was planning this time.

OOOOO

Back in the room Kakashi and Tsunade looked at each other. The Hokage spoke first. "I can understand why you wanted to tell Sakura, but why Naruto? He had no need to know all this."

Kakashi kept his gaze steady. "Not yet." He waited to see if Tsunade understood. He continued when he realized that she didn't. "Sandaime-sama only gave me one order."

"Yondaime-sama?" Tsunade pinched at the corner of her eyes as Kakashi nodded. "Damn…"

OOOOO

Sakura stood just outside the construction area where repairs were taking place. "You better not be playing around Naruto."

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto called out as he landed beside her. "Good! You made it."

"Why are we here?" Sakura looked around at the damage.

Naruto grinned. "We're going to find something that lets us track Daiki."

Sakura jerked slightly. Tsunade had already denied that request. "But how?"

"I think that's where we come in."

Sakura turned to see Kiba, Shino, and Hinata coming up the street.

Kiba grinned. "Scent, sight, or…" He paused. "Whatever the hell Shino uses."

Shino's eyebrow twitched.

"If there's anything usable to track him, we'll find it." Kiba let Akamaru jump to the ground and began to sniff the air.

"He said he passed through Wave Country." Naruto supplied as he began to examine the area. "If anything smells like Wave County let us know."

"You can't reduce a whole country to a single scent. Idiot." Kiba growled under his breath.

"_Byakugan_!" Hinata began to search the area. "Shino?" Her teammate nodded.

"The destruction bugs picked it up as well." Shino informed them.

Kiba turned. "You guys get it too?"

Sakura looked on expectantly. "Well?"

"We may have missed it if Naruto hadn't mentioned Wave Country." Shino held out his hand as the bugs returned. "There is an unusually high content of salt in the ground for this area."

Hinata pointed down the street. "There's a trail of footprints with lots of salt in that direction."

Naruto looked. "That's toward the gate…" He thought for a moment. "Shino? Can one of your bugs lead us the rest of the way?"

Shino nodded.

Kiba looked confused. "We can lead you to him though."

Shino raised his hand, halting his partner. "Our part is done." He lifted his finger and one of his larger beetles came forward. After a moment of silent communication the bug flew off. "As long as there's a trail, it will lead you."

Sakura looked around at the other three. "Thanks guys." She turned to follow after the bug before it got out of sight.

"If Tsunade-_obaa-chan_ asks…" Naruto turned. "Just tell her I forced you to do this." He paused, remembering the orders Tsunade had given him. "And thanks a lot you guys." He ran off after Sakura to find their target.

Kiba put his hands in his pockets. "He forced us? That's the alibi we're supposed to use? Man he's dumb."

Hinata pressed her fingers together nervously. "Maybe none of us will get caught."

Shino said nothing and turned to walk back the way they'd come.

OOOOO

Sakura was beginning to doubt the tracking skills of Shino's bug. As far as she could tell they were running in circles. She remembered having to cover his tracks when tracking Garra and Sasuke during the Chunin exam, she assumed that Daiki was likely doing the same.

"Shino's bug doesn't know where the hell it's going!" Naruto complained as he leapt to the next tree.

"It's not the bug's fault or Shino's!" Sakura called back. Still, she was starting to get tired after hours of searching. As if to respond to Sakura's thought, the destruction bug landed on the next branch.

Naruto landed on the branch next to the beetle. "Why did it stop?"

"So long as there's a trail…" Sakura looked around the forest. "It will lead you."

"Then this is the end of the trail." Naruto began to look around as well. "But no sign of Daiki."

"He covered his tracks too well." Sakura sighed. "Come on. Let's go home." She turned and saw Daiki rushing toward them. She didn't even have time to call out a warning to Naruto as her world went black.

End Chapter Two

OOOOO

Rider: So what did everyone think? Please leave a little something if you have time. All help is greatly appreciated.

Star: Later people.

Wraiths: See ya.

Rider: Till the next, live well all.

OOOOO

Jutsu Glossary - Just incase you really want to know

I figure that most know the techniques used in the series, but new characters always seem to bring new jutsu with them. Daiki is no exception, here's what he's shown so far.

"Suiton: Dai Koori Kuriputo no Jutsu" - "Water style: Great Ice crypt"

Moisture in the air is cooled at a rapid temperature forming ice around the target. Temperature can be lowered further to force the ice to constrict further crushing trapped victim. Rapid temperature change can induce hypothermia if exposed long enough.

"Raiton: Yorozu Mori no Jutsu" - "Lightening Style:

Ten thousand lances" Chakra mixes with static electricity in the air and rains down on a target. Extra chakra can be used to have the bolts follow after a moving target.

"Raiton: Nibou Setsuna no Jutsu" - "Lightening Style: Dipole moment"

Electricity moves out in all direction causing an ionization field that blocks any attackers from movement by statically bonding them to the nearest object. (A/N: I'm not a chem major, I don't pretend to understand all the bonds. It simply works for the story.)

"Ninpou: Uzumaki fuujin no Jutsu." - "Ninja Arts: Whirlpool Seal"

The exact nature of this seal is still under review. - ANBU Investigation Unit

"Chiyute no Jutsu" - "Healing hands"

While not used by Daiki, it is not well known. A medical jutsu used to heal small wounds.

"Nohara Chikatsu Saisei no Jutsu" - "Field healings resuscitation regeneration Technique"

A fast and dirty version of the true Chikatsu Saisei no Jutsu that was used to heal Neji after his battle with Kidomaru. Used to heal extensive wounds.


	3. Blood For Blood

Rider: Hi again everybody. Um, yeah…I've recently come to realize something. Namely only two people have reviewed and one doesn't really count cause she lives in the same dorm as me.

Star: Hey!

Rider: My concern over this is that I really like this story and want feed back on ways to make it better. Feedback that is sadly not coming in as it has for other stories I've done. I'm not sure if this is because the Naruto pages bump a million times faster than LH or if people simply overlook my summary because they think its boring. To that effect I'm considering…

Star: Review whore.

Rider: (Glares at star) I am considering releasing the potential pairings.

Star: Review whore.

Rider: I am not. Anyway, I think that doing so will make the story somewhat predictable if I do so and that's why I've held off. So, if your reading this and have a preference of released or unreleased let me know so I'll be ready for next chapter. That's all. See you at the end.

Star: (looks over at Rider) You really are a review whore.

Rider: Shut up!

OOOOO

Potential spoiler warning: Uh…I don't think there's anything spoiler related in this one actually.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. This is only for non-profit entertainment purposes. I mean, does anyone think I'm really Kishimoto? I hope not…

OOOOO

A Shinobi's Decision

Chapter Three - Blood for Blood

Tsunade's desk lay in splinters on the floor. "They did what?!"

Kotetsu and Izumo both looked like they were about attempt running for the hills rather than face their Hokage as she was now. Kotetsu looked down at the clipboard that listed the comings and goings of anyone who passed the village gate. "_Gomen nasai Godaime-sama_." He bowed deeply, grabbing the slightly quivering Izumo and forcing him to bow as well.

"When did they leave?" Tsunade was upset, to say the least, but her concern for the two gennin outweighed that right now.

"About three hours ago." Izumo answered.

"Damn…" Tsunade muttered. "I even with my orders I'd expect something like this from Naruto, but Sakura usually has a better head on her shoulders." In truth, Tsunade knew she was partly to blame for the situation herself. By refusing to allow pursuit of Daiki her apprentice had been forced to take actions into her own hands. It was moment like this she despised the fact that Sakura resembled her so much in her youth. "Anyone else with them?"

"No one." Izumo shook his head.

Kotetsu cleared his throat. "They seemed to be following a rather large insect through…"

The Fifth felt like her temple was going to explode. "Find Kurenai and tell her I want her team in here now!" She ground her teeth as the two chunin ran, happy to still be among the living. "_Tora_! _Taka_! _Ookami_! _Inu_!" Within a second of her call four ANBU appeared in her office. "Uzumaki and Haruno went after the boy. Three hours lead time. Tiger, Hawk, and Wolf, you are to proceeded directly into search and recovery protocols. Dog, you are to go to the Hyuuga compound with orders, to Hiashi personally, that I want every able bodied Byakugan out there searching for them. Then tell him I want him in my office ten minutes ago. After that rendezvous with your team. If the boy is found consider him S-rank, engage only if attacked or the kids are in danger or hurt." She paused. "_Inu_…that mask is now more dangerous to you than it has ever been before. Stay alert. Go!" The orders had taken less then a minute and already her men were gone. She clenched her fists as she stared out the window. "Sakura, you better be as damn good a student as I think you are."

OOOOO

She rolled over and pulled her blanket over her shoulder. It was soft and warm in her bed. She could smell the fish her mother was cooking downstairs and even in her half sleep state she felt her stomach growl. She stretched lazily and rolled the covers back preparing to get ready for the day. She stopped as she saw that she was already wearing her usual red dress. In an instant everything came back to Sakura as realized that she was not in her bed, not even in Konoha. She jumped to her feet, and promptly slipped on the bed roll under her.

"Finally up huh?"

She twisted toward the sound of the voice while reaching for her kunai holster. Her hand gripped empty air.

"It's over here."

Sakura looked up again. On the opposite side of the campfire sat Daiki holding up her holster and hip pouch. "Where's Naruto?"

Daiki nodded and placed the two bags back on the ground.

Sakura looked back over her shoulder to see Naruto fast asleep on a bed roll with the covers half kicked off and quite comfortable in his usual spread eagle sleeping position. "What did you do to us?"

"_Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu_." Daiki replied calmly. "I wanted to make sure you weren't bait. When I was certain that no one else was with you I move us to a safe location and let you sleep it off." He grimaced a bit. "No pun intended."

Sakura stared at him. How could he make jokes? "Where are we?"

"In a safe place." He reached out and pulled a stick from the ground. He tapped the fish on it lightly, nodded, and handed it to Sakura. "The jutsu often leaves you hungry when you wake."

Sakura took the stick and gingerly sniffed at the fish.

Daiki sighed and picked up a roast fish of his own. "If I wanted to kill you I've had more than enough opportunity. It's not poisoned." He bit into his own fish to prove the point.

Sakura was still hesitant, but couldn't argue with his point. Cautiously she took a small bite of the offering. There was no seasoning, but the flesh was soft and tender and she could taste no traces of poison that Tsunade had taught her about. She took another bite and looked around. Night had already fallen, but she really had no way to tell how long she'd been asleep. Or how far away help might be.

"You're free to leave at any time." Daiki leaned back and sat against the tree. "I won't stop you. By the time you meet up with anyone I'll be long gone." He took another bite of his fish. "The fact that you followed me this far means that you wanted something from me." Another bite. "Which either makes you very brave, or very stupid."

Sakura grimaced, was she really that easy to read? "Kakashi-sensei and Tsunade-sama told me about you. I wanted to talk with you."

Daiki paused, fish hanging from his lip. "I have to admit I didn't expect that." He wiped his mouth and took another bite, finishing his fish. He reached beside him and prepared another raw fish before planting it beside the fire. He took up another cooked fish and handed it to Sakura. "What do you want to talk about?"

Sakura took the second fish, surprised to realize she'd eaten the first entirely as she watched him. "Is it true? That we're from the same clan?"

Daiki picked up another fish and bit into it. "More than that, same family."

Sakura ate slowly as she considered her next words. "The rumors said that you had declared to kill Kakashi-sensei and destroy Konoha. Would you have really done it?"

Daiki looked up at the stars. "Yeah, probably."

"What made you stop?"

Daiki snorted and laughed lightly. "Does everyone on your squad ask questions they already know the answers to?"

"Don't talk about them like that!" Sakura's anger surfaced at the rebuke. "What do you know about my team?"

Daiki raised an eyebrow and smirked. "You were the smartest ninja in your age bracket at the academy taking second place to Uchiha Sasuke on exams only because you would get distracted day dreaming about him. Naruto was dead last at everything making his rivalry with Uchiha and his pursuit of you even more laughable. Uchiha's devoted himself to the life of an avenger to kill his brother for slaughtering their family. You use rainforest mist shampoo with extra body. Naruto has more spoiled food in his refrigerator than fresh. Uchiha begged you to remain silent about the seal on his neck even into the preliminary fights of the Chunin Exam. Shall I go on?"

Sakura stared at him. "How?"

Daiki shrugged and took another bite. "I've been spying on Konoha for the last…Hm? Five years or so? Gathering information on the Sharingan for my attack. Every person in your village was given a threat assessment from cadets to your Hokage in case they got in my way."

"But you stopped when you saw me."

Daiki shrugged again. "I was prepared to kill you too."

The statement hit Sakura like a ton of bricks to the face. "But…"

Daiki shrugged as he finished his second fish. "You were part of them. The family…" He made small quote marks with his fingers in the air. "That turned their collective backs on my mom. I wanted nothing to do with them. With you." He grabbed a third fish and ripped half of it into his mouth, taking some of the stick with it. "But then you got in the way and said…"

"I don't know who you are." Sakura remembered.

The boy nodded. "Our mothers were twins, meaning roughly half of our genetics are shared to some extent. Yet you knew nothing of who I was, and I suspect nothing of our clan's history." He sighed. "Even under the genjutsu I placed on myself, I couldn't place you with them any more. I couldn't blame you for the actions of your parents."

"Our clan." Sakura latched on to the topic before he could change. "Tsunade-sama said we once rivaled that of the Uchiha and the Hyuuga…"

"Rivaled?" Daiki laughed out right at the statement. "We owned them! Hell, we practically created them!"

"What?" Sakura, while she didn't quite shriek in surprise, it was rather loud. "Who? How? When?"

It was at this point the noise got so loud that Naruto finally decided to wake up. "What's going on?" He jumped to his feet and spotted Daiki, whom he then pointed an accusatory finger at. "_Teme_!" He tried to run forward but, like Sakura, slipped on his bed roll.

Daiki sweat dropped. "How the hell did I get punched by you?" He threw one of the roast fish over to the boy. "_Ahou_."

Naruto looked over at the boy as he caught the meal. "_Nani_?"

"Just eat Naruto." Sakura turned back to her…cousin. It felt weird to think of him as such, but she continued on. "What did you mean by…"

"I don't think it would be wise to discuss our clan's history at this point." He nodded to Naruto, who was looking for more fish. "Certain items are of a sensitive nature. Not to be heard by outsiders."

Sakura looked over at Naruto as he caught a few more fish from Daiki. She trusted Naruto, but Daiki clearly didn't. "Then come back with us."

Both boys turned sharply, looks of utter disbelief on their faces. "What the hell are you talking about?!"

Daiki looked over at Naruto, his eyes narrowed. "You're not an O, are you?"

"I'm a B!" Naruto shot back.

Both boy's sighed in relief. "_Domo Kami_…" They glared at each other again.

"I'm serious." Sakura continued before the boys started something that would likely get them killed. "Come back to Konoha with us. Kakashi-sensei feels awful about the past…" She forced herself to continue when she saw Daiki's eyes harden. "And I'm sure he wants to talk with you. To try to explain what happened. To make things right."

"The only way he will ever make things right is in death." Daiki replied in flat tone. "Besides, the moment I walk back into Konoha I'll be a prisoner. Your entire village knows who I am and what I did. The trial will be a sham and I'll be sentenced to execution at which time I will have to break out and kill some more of your people." He raised a hand as if to block and imaginary attack. "Thanks, but I'll pass."

"I'll speak with Tsunade-sama!" Sakura pushed. "She understands the situation. She'll give you a pardon." The girl looked him in the eye. "You will have to be under guard, there's nothing much I can do to change that, but you will get to see Konoha from the inside. I can show you our village, _our _village." She stressed the term to try and make him see her point. "You said yourself we shared DNA, you have a right to be there just as much as I do. Let me show you that our people can be more than just targets and threat assessments. And you…you can teach me all the things about our clan that I've never known."

Daiki pulled the last of the roast fish and prepared to chomp into it, at least until he saw Naruto drooling. He threw the fish at the blonde in a huff. "And what happens when some guy with a grudge comes after me for some payback. I'm not going to sit there and take it. I will crack skulls."

"No one will bother you." Sakura assured. "And if they say something or look at you funny, I'll deal with them."

"Trust me, no one will go against Sakura-chan." Naruto nodded his head in agreement. "They're too scared of her."

Sakura buried her fist into Naruto brain, planting the top half of his body into the dirt. "You jerk!" She looked up to see Daiki smirking. "What?"

"At least…" Daiki looked up at the sky. "At least the Haruno women of Konoha still have that inner fire."

Sakura couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed at the off-center insult, but was glad that Daiki's eyes had softened a bit from before. "Please come back with us."

Daiki sighed and let his head fall down to look Sakura right in the eyes. He paused a moment seeming to weight his options. "Is this truly that important to you?"

Sakura nodded. "Yes, it is."

Daiki sighed and nodded. "Very well then. It's not wise to travel this area in the dark, rather dangerous if you don't know the terrain. We'll head out in the morning."

Sakura smiled. "Thank you Daiki. I promise you won't regret this."

"I suppose I'll just have to trust you on that." Daiki sighed, a small smile on his lips. "You should get some rest. It will be a long hike tomorrow."

"In a little while." Sakura agreed. "First I want to know why you're so calm now."

"As opposed to a blood thirsty crazy like in town?" Daiki laughed at the nervous expression on the kunoichi's face. "I was under a three part _genjutsu_ that not only masked my appearance, but also my personality. I released the first two to fight the Sharingan…"

"Kakashi-sensei." Sakura interrupted. "His name is Kakashi, not Sharingan."

"I'm willing to make some efforts since you asked them of me. You need to understand he is not one of them." Daiki paused, seeing the grudging acceptance in Sakura's eyes. "Or at least a whole lot of time." He waited until Sakura nodded to continue his explanation. "The third part of the seal was to keep me focused on my task. The assassination and destruction of Konoha. It amplifies the brainwaves that control aggression."

"That's why your blood lust was so overpowering." Sakura realized.

Daiki nodded. "I had to release the third seal after I ran or else tracking me would have been so simple even that idiot could find me." He nodded at the still unconscious Naruto. "Without the jutsu," He raised his hands as if presenting himself. "What you see is what you get."

Sakura looked over at Naruto's limp body. "You could have killed Naruto easily, but you didn't. Why was that?"

"He is still bound to you."

Sakura blinked. "Huh?"

"How's best to explain this?" He mulled over the question silently for a moment. "I assume that you've gotten a crash course in bed side manner and addressing patients?"

"Yeah."

"Then you know the power that words can have on a person. As a clan of medical ninjas, words have a very important role. Sayings not only have to be taken at face value, but also their implied motivations." Daiki explained. "Certain statements, promises for example, carry the weight of a binding contract."

Sakura still failed to see the connection. "What's that have to do with Naruto though?"

"I'll get him back for you."

Sakura gasped as Daiki sounded surprisingly like Naruto.

"It's a promise of a lifetime."

Daiki waited silently for a while to let his newfound cousin take it all in. "I know I seem like a hypocrite, targeting the Sharingan and planning to spare your teammate, and I probably am. But at the time, I don't know, it made sense."

"So you never had any intention to kill Naruto?" Sakura wanted this clarified just to be safe.

"He was safe." Daiki looked at the boy. "He's not much, but as far as I'm concerned his dumb ass belongs to you to do with as you see fit." He grinned as Sakura laughed and looked up at the stars. "You've got about six, maybe six and half hours before the sun comes up. We can talk more at another time. For now get some sleep. The real stuff, not the jutsu induced kind that messes with you." He rolled his eyes as Sakura looked at him accusingly. "I'll still be here in the morning. I promise." He stood and nudged Naruto with his foot. "Oi, _Ahou_. Pick your ass up and go to bed."

Naruto, still looking slightly concussed, rolled over to his sleeping provisions and promptly passed out.

Sakura wrapped herself in her blanket, wondering briefly where Daiki had gotten it from, as she lay down. She watched him lean back up against his tree and close his eyes. She smiled as she began to drift off to sleep, hearing Daiki's muttered grumbling.

"I still don't understand how that idiot landed a punch on me."

OOOOO

It was almost noon when Izumo spotted them and he roughly shook his partner's shoulder. "Please tell me I'm not imagining this."

Kotetsu turned from his paperwork, followed by practically vaulting over the small desk. "You're back!"

"Well yeah," Naruto sighed. "Why wouldn't we be?

"The entire village as been on alert searching for you guys." Izumo continued to stare slightly. "You guys almost got us killed."

Sakura laughed nervously and bowed. "Sorry about that, we didn't think anyone would miss us."

"Some weird guy comes and almost kills your teacher, you go running off, and you thought no one would miss you?" Kotetsu suddenly had a new found respect for Kakashi and Tsunade. He shook his head. "You need to go see Tsunade-sama. Now."

Izumo paused and pointed to something on Naruto's shoulder. "What's with the frog?"

"I'm not a frog!" The little red amphibian dressed in a blue vest hopped angrily on Naruto's shoulder. "I'm a toad! Get it right!"

Izumo blinked and took a step back in surprise. "Eh…um…Yeah sure, sorry."

Naruto glared at the tiny toad slightly. "Don't be so rude." He shrugged, causing the toad to flail and hit Naruto over the head, eliciting another glare from the blonde.

"After we got lost Naruto decided to summon Gamakichi to help us find our way back." Sakura replied quickly. "Seems he did a good job." She grabbed Naruto and began to drag him off toward the Tower of the Hokage. "Come on Naruto. We need to go see Tsunade-sama."

The two guards watched the scene somewhat dumbfounded. "Think they'll live?" Izumo asked.

"They are Tsunade's favorites." Kotetsu replied slowly. "She might let them live."

Izumo nodded and returned to his post. "And since when can Naruto summon anything?"

Kotetsu shrugged.

"Hey! Forehead!"

They were about half way to the tower when Sakura heard an all to unpleasant voice. "Damn it…" She turned to see the other blonde of the rookie nine chasing her down the street. "What do you want Ino-pig?" She had no time to react as Ino slapped her hard across the face.

"Hey!" Gamakichi leapt from his perch on Naruto's shoulder and slammed his head into Ino's nose. "Keep your hooves off her!"

Ino recoiled and rubbed her nose. "Ahh! Frog! I'll get warts!" Ino promptly turned and ran for the nearest wash room.

Gamakichi hopped angrily up and down on the ground. "I'm a toad!" He stopped as Sakura grabbed him forcefully. "Eep!"

Sakura glared at him. "Don't do that again…"

"Yes ma'am." Gamakichi nodded. "But you have to admit it was effective."

Sakura sighed and placed the frog…toad…thing…on her shoulder before grabbing Naruto again. After a few minutes of navigating the streets they entered the tower and raced up the stairs. Immediately Sakura didn't like what she saw. Neji and the head of the Hyuuga clan stood outside the door of the Hokage's office. The older man pointed once to the door and Sakura knew they were expected. Expected, and in in it up to their necks. She sighed and knocked on the door.

"Get in here!" The door practically shivered with the force of Tsunade's voice.

Sakura opened the door, surprised to find Team Kurenai before the Hokage's desk.

Tsunade nodded to the other team. "Dismissed."

Even Naruto now was beginning to realize how much trouble he was in. Kurenai, perhaps the gentlest of the jounin-sensei, shot him a look that could have melt steel. Kiba shook his head at him. Hinata wouldn't make eye contact, though that was not a real good marker so much as the usual. Even Shino looked…well, like Shino, but more tense in the shoulders. Naruto swallowed hard.

Tsunade waited until the door was closed before rounding the desk and standing before her two charges. Naruto and Sakura were, understandably, confused as Tsunade grabbed them in a hug. Tsunade sighed. "I'm so glad you two are ok…"

Instantly, Naruto felt a change and let out a startled cry which was echoed by Sakura a moment later.

Tsunade now held both children in headlocks, one under each arm. "You damn _gaki no baka_!" She dragged them about the room. "Do you have any idea how worried I was about you? I was beginning to think you were dead!" She finally released them to catch their breath as they fell to the ground. "You're lucky you only got lost and not discovered by him! Who knows what would have happened if he'd gotten a hold of you?"

"Yes, what would he have done?" Called a voice from the ceiling. "Please tell us since you're such an expert on him."

Tsunade looked up at the voice to see the toad using chakra to sit on the ceiling. "What the hell is Gamakichi doing here?"

Sakura stood, forcing Tsunade to look away from the amphibian. "What if I told you that we didn't get lost?" She forced herself to look past Tsunade's glare. "What if I told you we were captured? And the only thing that happened was we talked and ate dinner?"

Tsunade looked between Sakura, Naruto, and the toad.

"He's willing to surrender. To come back to Konoha under peaceful terms." Sakura pressed. "Would you consider pardoning him?"

Tsunade knew that they were no longer in the realm of hypotheticals. Sakura wouldn't be saying these things without reason, and Tsunade could see how serious this issue was to the girl. "He'd have to remain under guard." She stated evenly.

Sakura nodded. "He's agreed to that."

Tsunade nodded. "Get word to him, I'll send ANBU to provide an escort here."

Sakura smiled. "Thank you Tsunade-sama, but that won't be necessary."

Tsunade blinked. "What? Why?"

Gamakichi fell from the ceiling and vanished in a puff of smoke, instantly Daiki took his place on the ground. "Honestly, you need some new guards at your gate. First illusionary passed them, then a simple _Henge no jutsu_." He shook his head.

Tsunade sighed as her apprentice grinned. "Seems you're a very good student…"

Sakura beamed.

The Hokage sat at her desk and pulled some paperwork from her drawer before signing it and stamping it. "Ok, he's pardoned. I'll begin circulating it to the village, but don't expect everyone to welcome you." She nodded at Daiki.

"I don't expect their welcome, just keep them off my back."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Well, now we have the second aspect to deal with. Namely, where to put you."

Sakura blinked at this. "I thought he'd be staying with us, my family I mean."

Tsunade looked over at Daiki, already knowing the answer.

"As I told you last night." Daiki's reply was slow. "I want nothing to do with my so called 'Family' other than you Sakura-sama."

Tsunade, making special note of the formality in Daiki's voice, continued before Sakura could argue. "Normally, in times past you'd be placed in the custody of Konoha's Military Police. As I'm sure you are aware the events of recent years have rendered that option impossible."

"It would also be pointless as I've already demonstrated that I can negate the Sharingan's abilities." Daiki added, for Sakura's benefit. "The _doujutsu,_ not the man."

Tsunade nodded, grudgingly admitting his point. "That leaves two options. The first, more extreme option, is a team of ANBU follow you at every step you make."

"And the other option?" Sakura asked.

Tsunade looked over at the door. "I've spoken with the head of the Hyuuga clan. He's agreed to have his clan in charge of your surveillance. A member of their clan will accompany you at all times to keep tabs on you. With their superior eye sight, even to that of the Sharingan, the moment they spot you trying anything they'll sound the alarm."

Daiki seemed to consider this option. "I'm not particularly thrilled with the option of the ANBU, but have you spoken with the boy?" He raised an eye brow as the leader of Konoha nodded. "Then you know I've neutralized the Byakugan as well. Why even consider the option?"

"You came to me." Tsunade pointed out. "You seem willing to trust…to an extent. I am offering the same level of trust. Aside from Neji and Hiashi, the rest of the clan doesn't know about your ability to block them. If you give me your word that you won't do anything…reckless…I'll afford you that much leeway."

"So I'll have paper tigers following me," Daiki considered. "So long as I promise to be a good little boy."

Sakura looked over at Daiki after a few minutes had passed in silence. After what had been said about the value he placed on promises, and what she knew of his feelings for Konoha, there was a good probability that he'd refuse the offer. But if ANBU was following their every move, she'd never be able to convince him that Konoha was a good place to live filled with good people. He could shut down and leave at any time causing her to not only fail to turn him around, but lose any information about her clan. "He won't cause you any trouble Tsunade-sama. I'll promise I'll take full responsibility for him should anything happen."

Both Daiki and Tsunade looked over at the girl with a slight amount of confusion. After a moment Daiki nodded. "As Sakura-sama said, I will agree to your terms. You have my word."

Tsunade looked between the two pink haired cousins. Something had just happened and she wasn't quite sure what it was, but it seemed to play in her favor. "Very well then. Enter!" The door opened and the two Hyuugas entered. "This is Hyuuga Hiashi and Hyuuga Neji."

"I know who they are." Daiki replied evenly before looking at Neji. "I take it you're to be guard number one?"

Neji nodded. "That's correct."

"Super." He sighed and looked over his shoulder at Sakura. "It's your show now, what's next on the list?"

Sakura brought a finger to her chin in thought. "Well, I suppose we should find you a place to stay."

"Part of his surveillance entails that he will be living on the Hyuuga compound." Hiashi, looking more than a little perturbed at being ignored by everyone, supplied. "Guest quarters have been prepared in expectance with his arrival."

Daiki looked over at Tsunade.

The Hokage shrugged. "When we didn't find bodies right off the bat I had a feeling that Naruto's assessment of you might be accurate. Then I counted on Sakura to be able to talk you into this."

Sakura gaped. "You played me?"

"I was right?" Naruto asked.

Daiki nodded, a begrudging smirk on his lips, as he laughed lightly. "Very well, this round to you."

Tsunade grinned. "I may gamble and lose far too much of the time, but I win when it counts."

Naruto had remained silent for most of the conversation because he really wasn't sure of all the undertones that were working through the room. Yet he was able to sense that the negotiations were basically over. Plus, hearing that he had been right about something, the most important part of the conversation as far as he was concerned, had rekindled his excitement. "Now that everyone's friends again, lets go get some ramen to celebrate!"

Daiki grimaced and looked at Sakura. "He's going to make me regret this decision, isn't he?"

Sakura laughed. "You learn to tune him out after a while. I would suggest getting something to eat though before we start walking around town."

Daiki shrugged. "Lead on."

The three gennin and their guest left the room leaving Tsunade and Hiashi alone. The Hyuuga leader turned. "Can we trust him?"

"I don't know." Tsunade admitted. "But I trust Sakura, and she seems to have a hold on him."

"A hold?" Hiashi's eyes narrowed. "In what way?"

Tsunade shrugged. "It's hard to say, but…" She recalled the way that the boy had addressed her apprentice. "I believe it's something akin to the relationship between your daughter and your nephew."

Hiashi turned and walked for the door where he paused. "Based on experience Hokage-sama, I hope your assessment is wrong on that respect."

"Oh? Why's that?"

"Neji despised us to the point that he was ready to kill us all." He continued on. "Should the boy contain similar feelings, he has the power to act on them."

Tsunade sat frowning in her office alone for some time after that.

OOOOO

Naruto and Sakura waved goodbye to Neji and Daiki as they entered the Hyuuga compound before turning away. The day had been nothing like what they had hoped for.

Sakura grimaced as she began to walk. "That could have gone better."

"Could have gone worse too." Naruto suggested, forever looking on the optimistic side of things. "At least no one got hurt."

Sakura nodded. After leaving the Hokage's office they had ended up going to the ramen stand, where Daiki had been refused service. Even the pleading of the stand's best customer had been to no avail. Daiki hadn't seemed to mind, insisting that the others eat instead, but Sakura refused to accept that. She had taken them to the next restaurant, only to have the same thing happen again. This occurred at every eatery they tried to enter until Daiki had used _Henge no Jutsu_ to transform into someone else to avoid attention. After leaving the restaurant they had decided to walk around the city.

Naruto glanced over at Sakura, knowing she was thinking about the numerous almost-fights that had broken out. She had tried so hard to show Daiki the good of the city, but the wounds were too fresh and raw. The villagers wanted retribution for what Daiki had done. It was a feeling that Naruto understood, but he had pushed it aside for Sakura's sake. Still, he had to admire the way the foreign ninja handled things.

Insults had gained no reaction from him, seeming to roll off him as not being worthy of his time. Despite his declaration of the night before, when people had hit him he didn't fight back. Most times he took a few shots and either Naruto, Neji, or Sakura would step in and break it up.

The only reaction that had come had been when one of the assailants, smelling vaguely of sake, attacked Sakura for protecting him. The scene that unfolded was one that Naruto wasn't sure he could believe. Daiki had pushed the man away and placed two fingers at the man's Adam's Apple, informing the man that if he touched Sakura again Daiki would kill him and consequences be damned. In that instant, Daiki had gained a few respect points in Naruto's book.

Before long the two teammates were at the corner where they would part ways for the night. Naruto felt that he should say something to Sakura. To encourage her, to make her feel better, tell her that she was doing the right thing. They both stopped, seeming to not want to move away from each other, but the words wouldn't come.

"Hey? Naruto?" Sakura finally spoke up.

"Yeah?"

Sakura looked up and smiled. "Thank you, for sticking by me today."

For a moment, Naruto considered trying to take her hand and give it a reassuring squeeze. Instead, he laced his hands together behind his head and leaned back on one foot in one of his typical poses. "Hey, come on. You should know by now that I'm always going to be there for you."

"Thanks Naruto." Sakura smiled. "That means a lot to me." She turned and began to walk for home. "Good night."

"Good night Sakura-chan." Naruto watched her go until she rounded the corner out and was out of his sight. "I'll be here if you ever need me."

End Chapter Three

OOOOO

Wraiths: You did the opening with out me?

Rider: Not my fault you didn't get out of bed.

Star: (poke wraiths) Hey, tell him he's a review whore.

Rider: I am not a review whore! (heavy breathing) Uh…that said…(bows head) Damn…please leave a little something if you have time. I hope to get one more chapter up before break ends, so…keep me motivated and stuff. Till the next, live well all.

Wraiths: I am so confused right now…

Star: Later people. (Grins evilly)

Rider: Don't say it!

Star: REVIEW WHORE!

Rider: I hate you Star…

OOOOO

Jutsu glossary

"_Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu_." - Feigning sleep technique

The jutsu used by Garra to induce sleep and allow Shukaku's spirit to take over. Modified here by Daiki to be used as a subjugation style jutsu against others.


	4. Confrontation of Reality

Rider: Greetings everyone. How you all been? This chapter was supposed to be up around mid day yesterday, but the snow/ hail storm that hit my area left a lot of snow and ice to be cleaned up and I spent the whole day digging out my various relative's driveways. Ugh…

Star: Ha ha.

Rider: So yeah, anyway, here it is. Also a few have sent me either PM or IM saying reveal pairings, so that will follow this chapter. Hey stop scrolling down! Read the story first!

Wraiths: Screw that I want to see who's hooking up with who.

Rider: I give up, see you all at the end.

OOOOO

Potential spoiler warning: Uh again, if you're not past the time jump, a small possible spoiler. You have been warned.

Disclaimer. Bizzaro says "I own everything that is Naruto." (For those of you who have no idea what just happened, Bizzaro only says the opposite of what he means. I don't own Naruto so don't sue me.)

OOOOO

A Shinobi's Decision

Chapter Four Confrontation of Reality

"You're supposed to be in your room under guard."

Daiki didn't turned toward the voice. "And you are supposed to be in yours fast asleep." He leaned back and placed his hands on the roof so that he could look easier up at the stars. "Yet here we are, two individuals telling the rest of the world to screw off." He tipped his head back farther, turning the world upside down, to at last look at the young girl. Her long hair reached to just past her shoulders and tumbled gently in the light wind. She wore a simple outfit of a black training shirt and matching black pants. He thought back to what he knew of her, she couldn't be more than seven, perhaps eight, years of age. "_Hanabi-chan desune_?"

The young Hyuuga nodded slightly. "Is it true? I heard my father talking with Neji-_nii-san_ earlier. Is it true you've defeated the Sharingan and the Byakugan?"

Daiki sighed, so much for this clan being able to keep a secret. "And if I did?"

"Teach me." Hanabi stepped forward slightly. "Teach me how to avoid my father's Byakugan."

Daiki looked back up at the stars. "I refuse."

The girl dropped into her fight stance. "You must!"

"I will not." Daiki continued to lounge on the roof. "Or more accurately, I can not."

Hanabi didn't shift from her stance. "What do you mean?"

"You can no more learn my technique," Daiki tipped his head back again to make eye contact. "Than I can learn to use your Byakugan."

The little girl faltered and released her stance. "_Kekkai genkai_?"

The boy smiled. "Not yet, but it will be soon."

Even at her young age Hanabi knew you either had a bloodline limit or you didn't. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing that concerns you _chibi_. You can barely keep your eyes open, go to bed." He waved the girl off and looked up at the stars again.

"What are you saying? I'm not…even…tired…"

Daiki's body seemed to flicker as he moved from his spot on the roof to catch the little girl before she fell. He felt guilty a moment forcing the girl into sleep like that, but took comfort in the knowledge that she wouldn't remember any of this tomorrow as he traced the seal over her brow. "Sorry kid, but you're not the one. Perhaps in time." He looked around carefully and used a teleportation jutsu to take Hanabi back to her room. He gently laid her on her futon and pulled the covers around her. "Somehow, I get the feeling you two would get along great together." He chuckled and repeated the teleportation jutsu to return to his own room for the night.

OOOOO

Sakura stared at the piles of texts that Daiki summoned from his scroll. "You can't be serious."

Daiki blinked confused. "These are just the basics."

"Basics?" Sakura fairly passed out.

"Hey, you're the one who asked me to teach you about our clan." Daiki pointed out. "No one said it was going to be easy." He turned to Neji. "You need to leave now, Haruno bloodline only."

Sakura nodded to Neji when he hesitated. "It's ok, we'll be fine."

Neji turned. "I'll be just outside."

"Ok." Daiki unrolled the first of the scrolls. "I'm sure the Slug Queen has given you some training, so let me see what you can do in terms of chakra manipulations."

Sakura nodded and formed a ball of green chakra in her palm.

Daiki looked at the shimmering energy. "Any time you're ready."

Sakura blinked. "I…I did."

"Not formation." Daiki poked at the sphere molding it into different shapes. "Manipulate it."

Sakura, as smart as she was, was now thoroughly lost. "I don't understand what you mean."

Daiki sweat dropped. "Oh boy…this could take a while."

OOOOO

Naruto lay on his back breathing heavily. Around him lay scattered weaponry and training apparatus. He'd been training since this morning when he'd left Sakura, Neji, and Daiki at the Tower of the Hokage. He had had some limited success, but really had no direction at this point. He knew he needed to get stronger, but he felt like he was running in circles with the methods he knew. He'd reached a plateau that he couldn't seem to clear.

The old pervert wasn't here to train him. Tsunade-_obaa-chan_ was too busy dealing with the daily goings on of Konoha to help him. Kakashi-sensei was still in the hospital because of his injuries. Sakura was busy with her own training, having even less time for him since what's-his-name showed up.

Naruto sighed. Seemingly some twist of fate had taken his sigh as a request for help. A very twisted twist of fate as an unmistakable face filled his view. "_Kegi Mayuu_?"

"Good morning Naruto-kun!" Rock Lee wave in greeting to the boy on the ground. "I was wondering if you would like to do some training with me?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the thought. He had heard stories of what Fuzzy Brows training was like. Still, the more he thought about it, if anyone was knowledgeable on ways to get stronger Lee was the best guy to talk to at the moment. "Sure, but uh…Where's the rest of your team?"

Lee grasped Naruto's outstretched hand and pulled him to his feet. "Gai-sensei had to go out on a mission for Godaime-sama. Tenten-san said she had to do something with her family, and Neji-san is…"

"With Sakura-chan and Daiki." Naruto finished for the other boy.

"Right." Lee nodded. "I was supposed to train with Neji-san today but I no longer can do that. I was about to start my daily run when I saw you over here."

"A run huh?" Naruto stretched his legs a little bit more. "Ok, lets do it."

"Very well Naruto-kun!" Lee flashed two big thumbs up. "Come! The fires of youth blaze a path for us to follow!" He began to run with Naruto a step behind him. "The fires of youth are with us Naruto! Let's go!"

Naruto watched with a blank expression on his face as Lee became nothing more than a cloud of smoke in the distance. "Then again, maybe he's not the best training partner for me."

A few minutes later Lee returned coming from the opposite direction. "Naruto-kun? What happened? I was half-way around Konoha and I realized you were no longer with me."

Naruto frowned at the boy. "I'm no where near as fast as you are! You took off and I couldn't keep up!"

Lee bowed in apology. "I am sorry Naruto-kun."

"Forget it." Naruto dismissed the whole incident. "Our training styles are too different, that's all." He paused. "Hey Lee, those weights you were wearing at the exams, how much to they weigh?"

"Those weights were fifty kilograms apiece." Replied the green clad ninja.

Naruto gaped at the weight. "And you wear them all the time?"

Lee shook his head. "I no longer uses those weights." He lifted his orange leg warmers revealing much cleaner, newer looking weights. "The old ones were becoming to easy to move so I had to create new ones."

"And those are?"

"One hundred kilograms apiece." Lee replied as he lowered the orange cloth and flashed a nice guy smile like his sensei.

"Lee, you think I could borrow your old weights if you're not doing anything with them right now?" Naruto asked in a surprisingly quiet voice. "I need a way to get stronger and it seems to have worked pretty well for you."

Lee looked at Naruto in bewildered shock. The ninja who had defeated Lee's rival in the Chunin exams, the man who had defeated Garra and fought to a standstill with Sasuke was asking him for help. Lee was surprised, awed, and humbled at the same moment. Naruto rarely asked for help, and never before from Lee. Here was a perfect opportunity to repay the man who had provided him with goals and inspiration. "_Hai Naruto-kun_! Wait here! I'll go and get them right away!"

Naruto raised a hand to try and tell the oddly dressed ninja it didn't have to be right now, but Lee was already a trail of dust in the distance. "_Henjin_…" He sighed and looked back at his training equipment. He was about to gather everything into a pile when Lee returned.

"Here you are Naruto-kun." Lee handed over the weights.

The blonde gennin almost dropped the weights upon receiving them. "Thanks Lee." He bent down and rolled up his pant leg and put the first in place before covering it over and repeating for the other leg. He stood and found he could barely walk. "_Ano_…"

"You might find that to start you have to use extra chakra to walk normally." Lee supplied, seeing his comrade having trouble. "After some time you will have no problem."

Naruto focused his chakra into his legs and found he could move a bit easier. "This is going to take some getting used to." He tried running and jumping around, finding his mobility had been reduced by more than half. "Hey Lee?"

"Yes Naruto-kun."

"After I get good with these things, what do you say we have a race?" Naruto grinned as he made the challenge.

Lee flashed a cheesy, yet infectious, smile and struck his "nice guy" pose with a thumbs up. "Ok! I accept your challenge! The fires of our youth will push us to go beyond our limits!"

Naruto grinned. Fuzzy brows may be have been a weirdo as far as Naruto was concerned, but he was good kind of weirdo at least. His heart was in the right place.

"Then, no matter who wins," Lee turned to resume his run. "We will both run faster to return Sasuke-kun to our home." He looked over his shoulder as the surprised Naruto. "Train hard Naruto-kun."

Naruto watched the green, or was it blue, beast of Konoha run off into the forest. For a moment he simply stood there. "Yeah, we'll get him back all right." He jogged, as best he could, back to his training area to resume his daily regiment.

OOOOO

Tsunade sat in her office going over mission requests and reports simultaneously, yet her mind was elsewhere. No one had been willing to tell her directly, but she had heard about the hostilities of the previous evening. She had known that the pardon would keep the council and the other shinobi at bay, but the civilian population's opinion was largely out of her area of control. The only way he'd be left alone is to let things blow over, something that would not happen so long as Sakura kept trying to take him around town. She debated about speaking to the girl, but decided that it would be better to let them find their own way.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune ran into the office quickly. "This just arrived."

The Fifth took the letter and immediately recognized the seal of her toad-hermit teammate. With a small amount of chakra she unlocked the seal and began to read the letter. Her brow furrowed as she continued to read.

Shizune watched with growing discomfort as her mentor's frown deepened. Then the vein in her temple began to throb. Following this Tsunade's lip twitched and her face became flushed with anger, steam nearly shooting from her ears. "Tsunade-sama?"

The Hokage's hand flashed as a burst of chakra reduced the letter to a pile of ash. "He sent a letter…" She took a deep breath to try and calm down. "Saying that he found a spot to do his research while on his travels." Another breath. "We're dealing with some of the most dangerous criminals we've ever seen…"

Shizune shied away as she saw death in her Hokage's eyes.

"And he's peeping into a women's bath in some red light district!" Tsunade had at this point shattered her desk, sending paperwork flying everywhere.

"I'll see about getting you a new desk." Shizune quickly excused herself from the room, least she accidentally end up like the furniture.

Tsunade waited until her attendant was gone to allow herself to relax. She looked out over her village. "It's finally begun." She rested her hand heavily on the window sill. "The hunt for the _Jinchuuriki _has officially begun."

OOOOO

Naruto walked slowly up the street, mostly because he had no other choice. His legs burned and his stomach growled. His orange uniform was far from pristine, covered in grass stains, mud, and what was possibly blood from his numerous falls. His ribs hurt from crashing into branches and he was certain he had more than a few leaves in his hair. He was also fairly certain that he had an odor about him that was none to pleasant. At this point he wanted nothing more than to go home, shower, makes some cup ramen, and sleep.

"Naruto!"

He turned and saw a certain pink haired girl and immediately caught his second wind. "Sakura-chan!" He forced his legs to move despite their ample protest and was soon in the small group from last night. "What's up?"

"He's an even stricter teacher then _Shisho_." Sakura glared at Daiki. "So he's taking us out to dinner to apologize."

Naruto's ears visibly perked at the mention of dinner paid for by someone else. "Alright! Ichiraku here we come!"

"We can't." Neji pointed out quickly. "Ichiraku-san has refused to serve Daiki-san."

"Listen, you clearly are going to be hanging around quite a lot, so just drop the san. Ok?" Daiki sighed. "I'll use _henge_ if needed, however," He looked over at Naruto. "Sakura-sama worked very hard today and made a lot of progress so it's her choice, not yours. _Ahou_." A puff of smoke in the next moment revealed the same nameless face of the previous night, yet the voice was unmistakably Daiki's "Lead on."

Sakura turned and began to walk down the street. There was a restaurant that she had been wanting to try for some time. Unfortunately, on a gennin's pay, that wasn't likely to happen. She almost giggled.

"Sakura-san?"

As she turned toward the voice she realized they were passing the ramen stand and old man Ichiraku was making his way towards them. "_Hai_?"

"I heard about you being attacked last night." The old man bowed. "I believe I may have been at fault. He was one of my customers and I fear I served him to much sake. I apologize."

"It's not your fault." Sakura assured him. "You couldn't have known what he'd do."

"None the less, I feel responsible. Please allow me to make it up to you."

"Free ramen?" Naruto asked, saliva overflowing his mouth.

Ichiraku nodded, knowing he was about to be eaten out of house and home.

"Actually," Sakura thought on the idea. "Will you let him eat with us?" She nodded to Daiki and he release the transformation.

Ichiraku looked at the man. "Did you mean what you said when you asked me to open a stand in your town? Did you like my cooking that much?"

"It is as Naruto said." Daiki nodded. "It is the best ramen I've ever tasted."

Ichiraku nodded. "Very well then. If Naruto and Sakura are willing to speak on your behalf, you are welcome in my shop."

Sakura smiled, a bit annoyed at missing her shot at the other restaurant, but happy that Daiki could eat with them without a disguise. "Ok then, let's eat." She grinned at the old ramen vendor as she nodded to Daiki. "He's paying."

Ichiraku laughed as he began preparing ingredients. "Got yourself in trouble did you boy?"

Daiki sighed and took his spot on a stool. "Somehow, I think this is only the beginning." He looked over at the blonde. "Hey, _Ahou_."

"Stop calling me that!"

"Prove to me you're worthy of another title." Daiki laughed off the glare he received. "Care to make a wager?"

Naruto frowned. "Like a bet?"

Daiki rolled his eyes. "Yes, like a bet. _Ahou. _I'll bet you I can eat more ramen then you. You win, I'll teach you a new jutsu. I win, you pay for dinner."

Naruto couldn't believe his luck. It was a win-win situation for him, all he could eat ramen and a new jutsu. "You're on!"

Daiki smiled. "Serve'em up my man. I'm going to put this kid under the table."

Sakura and Neji both looked horrified.

"It's no wonder he and Naruto don't get along." Neji mumbled as he began his meal.

Sakura similarly began to eat. "I had thought that Daiki was more mature, but you're right Neji, they are too much alike."

Daiki and Naruto both raised their bowls into the air. "Another!"

Neji closed his eyes and continued to eat. "This is going to end badly you know."

Sakura nodded silently.

Some time later the owner of the ramen stand set the final two bowls of ramen before the two boys. "That's it you two. You've eaten everything." He turned away and began to clean the shop. "I've never had that happen before."

Sakura tapped a finger against the counter. "You two should stop before you die."

Naruto's belly distended significantly and he looked as if he would burst at any moment. "I will not lose…"

Daiki, while not showing the bulging gut like Naruto, had a faint shade of green on his face as he continued to eat. "Likewise, _ahou_."

Naruto lifted his spoon to point at his opponent. "I told you to…to…to…" Naruto's eyes rolled back in his head as he listed backwards and fell off his stool unconscious.

Neji just shook his head.

Daiki laughed. "Ah, damn." He reached into one of his pockets and pulled his wallet. He continued to laugh as Sakura looked at him in confusion. "I guess I win, but he's not exactly going to be able to pay if he's asleep." He pulled the money he needed and let it rest on the counter. "See you tomorrow old man." He lifted Naruto over his shoulder and began to walk outside. "Besides, you're not the only one who worked hard today Sakura-sama."

They began to walk through the street when they passed another familiar shop. Sakura pulled Daiki aside. "Come here, I want you to meet someone." She lead the way into the flower shop.

"What do you want forehead?" Ino came around the counter, a yellow apron over her usual ninja attire.

"Damn you Ino-pig…" Sakura twitched over the nickname. She quickly got herself under control. "I wanted you to meet someone. This is Daiki."

Ino looked him over. "He's no Sasuke, but at least you traded up from Naruto."

"You…" Sakura balled her hands into fists. "He's my cousin."

Ino looked at Daiki again. "I don't believe you. His forehead is way too small."

"You know…" Daiki shifted Naruto on his shoulder slightly. "I liked our first meeting better."

Ino blinked. "First meeting?"

"Yes, I believe you ran away quite quickly." Daiki nodded. "Right after I told you to, what was it again? Keep your hooves off Sakura-sama? Yes that was it."

Ino's eyes went big and round and her pupils seemed to vanish as she pointed at the boy. "You were the damn frog!"

"Toad, but yes." He grinned at her. "How's the nose by the way?"

"How dare you do that to a girl!" Ino seethed as she dropped into a fighting stance. "Especially one as beautiful as me!" She blinked in surprise as he simply turned away from her. "Hey!"

"I see you have Stargazer Lilies." Daiki used his free hand to lift the petals gently before selecting two. "I'd like to purchase these." He lay the flowers on the counter to gain his money.

Ino wanted to kill this guy in the worst way, but her parents had left her in charge of the shop. "Fine." She was surprised a moment later Daiki held one of the brilliant pink and white blooms out to her.

"A symbol of innocence and purity." He bowed his head slightly. "As well as one of sympathy. Please accept my apologies for our earlier unfortunate meeting. We were in something of a tight spot. Surely one with beauty such as you will not hold a moment of stupidity against a dumb boy."

"Uh, yeah ok." Ino blushed furiously as she took the flower. "It's no big deal, really."

Sakura looked as though she was about to hurl. Daiki just lost some of his standing in her eyes. She followed him out of the store and walked behind him in something of a daze.

Daiki turned and handed the second, larger bloom, to Sakura. "For someone who is truly worth of such a flower."

Sakura blinked. "Then? That whole thing back there?"

"An act to get that sow off all our backs."

Neji laughed outright.

Sakura laughed lightly. "Come on, I'll show you the rest of the city." They walked for the next hour or so as she pointed out the various attractions of the village."

"Damn you!"

Neji responded instantly to the attack, grabbing the boy's wrist and forcing him to drop the knife. He gasped as he realized that the attacker was just a small boy.

"Let him go." Daiki set Naruto on the ground. "Wake up _ahou_."

Neji looked at the boy and then at Daiki before releasing the wrist he held.

"Hakanai!" A woman ran from the crowd and grabbed the boy pulling him behind her. "Please, he doesn't understand about the pardon. Don't arrest him."

"No harm was done." Daiki looked at the woman protecting the boy and the infant she cradled in her arms. "Might I speak with the boy a moment though?"

The woman looked unsure, but nodded.

"Come on out. I would see the face of the one who I speak with." Daiki's voice was soft, but commanding, and he waited until he could see the boy. "I've already heard your name. Tell me why you attacked me."

"You attacked us!" Hakanai shouted back. "You wrecked our home! That's reason enough!"

"I understand you're mad…" Sakura began.

"Sakura-sama, be quiet." Daiki remained facing the boy as he said this. "Then you wanted revenge? For yourself?"

"No! My Mom and Dad worked really hard for that home! And my brother really liked it there! Not like the shelter!" Hakanai looked at the knife on the ground. "And it's all your fault!"

Naruto had woken up enough at this point to understand the situation. "There's a lot you don't…"

"Shut up Naruto." Daiki continued to fix on the boy. "You're right. It is my fault." He bowed to the boy. "I'm sorry."

Sakura could hear immediately the difference in his voice from back at the Yamanaka flower shop. "Daiki…"

The boy turned away. "Sorry doesn't do my family any good."

Daiki stood straight. "Again, you're right." He looked at the boy. "Show me."

Hakanai turned. "What?"

"Show me where you're home was." Daiki repeated.

"Why?"

"I'll make it worth your time." Daiki's voice was softer now.

"Fine! Let's go." The boy turned and ran down the street.

A short travel later Sakura found herself only a few blocks from the site where Daiki and Kakashi had fought. The damage to the area was extensive despite the reconstruction teams still at work. Most people on the street simply looked and continued to walk on. There were some however that stood staring at the wreckage, seemingly unable to move or perhaps having nowhere else to go. Some were also crying. They ranged from children to elderly, civilian to jounin. She had helped with the reconstruction after the attacks of the Chunin exam, but she still felt her heart ache when she saw scenes like this.

"It was here." Hakanai pointed to the wreckage. "That's where our home was."

Daiki looked over the destruction and felt his jaw clench. "Sakura-sama, Neji-san, Naruto, I need to ask a favor from you guys."

Sakura nodded. "What is it?"

"Tell the workers to leave this area for a little while. Tell them it's your Hokage's orders or something." Daiki began cracking his knuckles.

"What are you going to do?" Neji, even if his role as a guard was ornamental in purpose, was still cautious.

Daiki bowed his head. "Something I should have thought to do a long time ago."

The three leaf gennin talked quietly amongst themselves for a few minutes before deciding that there was nothing that Daiki could really do to set back the reconstruction. Sakura also pointed out that he had remained true to his word so far. They split up and began handing down the less than honest orders from the Hokage. A few minutes after that the workers were in a small group behind the ninja.

"Neji-san, one more check if you please." Daiki looked out into the empty lot.

"_Byakugan_!" The veins on the sides of his face popped out as chakra was focused into his eyes. After a quick scan his eyes returned to their normal state. "The area is empty."

"Very well then." Daiki closed his eyes placed his hands together so that the tips of each finger matched up on the opposite hand. With the release of a deep breath he opened his hands while keeping the tips in contact to form a small container-like cage in his hands.

Naruto almost thought that Daiki was trying to do that thing Shikamaru did in the exam fights because the hand sign was similar enough. He continued to watch as Daiki's hands began to pulse in and out making the cage shrink and expand rhythmically. After a few more minutes of this he saw the green chakra ball form and hover between the fingers.

Neji activated his _Byakugan_ and studied the growing ball of chakra. Despite it's compact size it was incredibly dense with power. He had heard seen Naruto's _Rasengan_ only two days ago, and while Daiki's didn't seem to have the destructive swirls to it his sphere was considerably more powerful. He sensed the change in the composition of the chakra ball even before he noted the color change. "Earth chakra?"

Sakura watched in amazement as tendrils of brown Earth chakra mixed with the green colored healing chakra until the entire sphere was the color of fresh mud. As he widened his hands slowly to break the cage she could see how much energy was placed in to the sphere as it began to expanded as well. His index and middle fingers remained pointed out on each hand as he began to drag them over the sphere in complicated, winding patterns. She began to understand what he was doing as the chakra bent and reformed at each of his touches.

"What's he doing?"

Sakura looked around and saw that a large crowd had gathered on the street to watched the impromptu show. She turned back as Daiki was nearing the end of his preparations. This is what they had been working on all day. "Chakra manipulations…" The once ball of energy was now an elaborate mixture of shapes, lines, and kanji. "A seal…"

Daiki's eyes snapped open and he placed the flat palm of his right hand at the center of the glowing chakra seal before slamming it home into the ground. "_Doton_! _Chikatsu Saisei no Jutsu_!"

The gather crowed watched in awe as the landfill began to twist and undulate under as if under some otherworldly force. The stones began to coalesce and rise high into the air. The stones began to spread and flatten. These flattened pieces of stone shifted and merged into one another forming roughly squares shapes that smoothed further as they aligned. From these walls holes began to form and expand to create doors and windows. Sand from the construction pits glowed red hot, only to instantly cool into plates of glass that fit into the window openings. Smaller slabs of rock shot higher still into the air and began to fall into place as tiles on the rapidly forming roof.

It was hard to tell because her vision was blocked by the rising rows of houses, but by the time everything had settled into place Sakura guessed that about twenty percent of the destroyed area had been rebuilt. "Is this unique to Daiki?" She wondered silently. "Or were events like this the normal occurrence in my clan? And if so…" She looked over at Daiki as he relaxed his body and stepped back unsteadily. "How far have we fallen as a clan? And why?"

Daiki turned and crossed over to Hakanai. The young boy's face no longer held the hate filled expression from before. Instead Daiki could see shock, and as he moved closer he could read fear as well. When he was right in front of the boy he bent down, Hakanai's brown eyes staring deep into his own green. "What I did to you and your family is unforgivable, and what I have just done now does not come anywhere near close to making things right for you."

Sakura motioned for Naruto to be quiet as the scene played out, but at the same time signaled him to watch the crowd as Neji was doing.

Daiki presented the knife from earlier and held it out to the boy. "I will understand if you hate me and will take any further punishment you wish to give. However," He lowered his head slightly. "Though I've no right to ask anything of you, I want you to remember how much you hate me right now. Remember it every time you are in a position to overpower another, and think how they will react to you. As you have to me." He continued to hold the blade out to the boy, handle extended. When he felt the boy take the knife he opened his arms far to the side and lifted his head, exposing his chest for whatever the boy may do. He closed his eyes so that he wouldn't flinch away from the boy on instinct.

Hakanai looked at the man before him, and then at the knife in his trembling hand.

Naruto grinned as Daiki's eyes shot open to the sound of the knife clattering against the street.

"You're right, I am mad." Hakanai admitted. "But you gave back what you took. That's all my family needs." He turned and walked back to his mother. "Let's go home."

Daiki sat back on his heels, shocked into silence.

Hakanai turned just before he was about to move into the crowd. "_Oi, jii-san_. Thanks for giving us our home back."

Daiki looked up at the sky and the stars that where just beginning to show themselves. "Old man? I'm no old man. Seems that I'm a still a kid too." He stood slowly looking into the crowd. "I can perform that jutsu once more this evening. Will someone show me to the next area?"

Sakura watched in silent satisfaction as one of the villagers began to lead. Around her others were moving toward their rebuilt homes. Whatever had brought this about, it was exactly what he needed right now. The villagers could see him for more than just attacking the village. It was as good a place as any to start she decided as she watched Daiki repeat his work and raise another section of the city. Her heart faltered as she saw Daiki stumble back. Fortunately he was caught by Naruto and another nearby villager as she rushed toward him.

"I guess…I over did it a bit." He laughed and grinned despite this. He sat on the ground as the villagers looked at him. "I'm afraid I'm spent for tonight. I'll start again in the morning, after I've rested."

Those villagers whose homes had not been restored didn't look happy, but had no choice but to accept as Neji ushered them on their way. He helped Daiki to his feet. "We should get you back to the compound."

Daiki nodded. "I guess." He looked over at Sakura. "I want to teach you some non-medical applications of our clan tomorrow." He turned and began to walk slowly away from Naruto and Sakura. "You may want to bring as pair of sturdy gloves." When he felt he was sufficient distance away he turned to his chaperone. "Neji-san? Could I ask you to indulge me in one more favor before we head back?"

Neji nodded and the two vanished in a puff of smoke.

OOOOO

Kakashi glanced up as he sensed someone at his window. The fact that he was on the fourth floor of the hospital and it was after visiting hours only added to his sense of unease. "You may as well come in." He window opened and Daiki slipped inside silently. "Come to finish me off?"

"If I wanted you dead you'd never sense me in time." Daiki leaned against the wall. "Neji is on the roof, I gave him my word you'd still be alive in the morning so don't die in your sleep tonight."

Kakashi really didn't have an answer to this. "Um…ok." Silence engulfed the room for a few minutes after that. "Was that all?"

Daiki turned and stared out the window but remained silent a another minute. "I hate you."

Kakashi recoiled slightly at the words that sounded so familiar from so long ago. Luckily his guest didn't notice or chose to ignore it. "Yeah, I think we've established that…"

"Shut up!" Daiki gripped the window sill tightly. "Just shut up. This is hard enough to say without your stupid yap getting in the way and slowing me down." He sighed heavily. "I hate you, most likely…I always will. My hatred of you allowed me to remained focused, to do things I probably couldn't have otherwise." He paused. "But tonight, I had a kid look at me the way I used to look at you."

Kakashi remained silent. For the first time in a long time, he was not sure where this was headed.

Daiki turned and looked at Kakashi. "I will not allow my hatred to turn me into you. We each made our choices, I accept that even if I can't accept the outcomes." He looked away. "I won't say that I forgive you nor will I apologize for attacking you. If you ever fall from Sakura-sama's good graces I may still kill you anyway. But for the time being, your life has no value to me. Do with it what you will."

After a few movements Kakashi shifted. "Can I speak now?"

"No." Daiki replied quickly. "I'm not done yet." He looked down at the ground far below. "What I will apologize for is what I said about Sandaime Hokage. He gave you the mission in the best interest of Konoha, while I simply acted on a need for revenge. I see that now." He sighed. "I'm sorry for what I said about him when we first met." He looked up at the stars through the window. "It would seem that he was a far smarter man than I."

Kakashi nodded. "He was a far smarter man than all of us combined."

Daiki sighed and opened the window before balancing on the ledge. "I wonder if…"

Kakashi raised his eyebrow. "What?"

Daiki shook his head. "I wonder if this is what she meant when she said I would be unable to kill you."

Kakashi didn't have a chance to reply as the window slammed shut and Daiki vanished into the night. He decided not to dwell on it and pulled his copy of _Icha Icha Paradise_ from under his covers to resume his reading.

End Chapter Four

OOOOO

Rider: Ok, here we go. Please leave a little something if you have time. Go ahead and skip to the pairing list now. 'Till the next, live well all.

Star: You are a review whore.

Wraiths: Where's the pairings list. Oh there it is…

OOOOO

I hate myself as I do this, but here we go. These are pairings that will occur in the story. They are not however final pairings. What does that mean? They will get together, but they may not necessarily be together at the end of the story because of the nature of its progression. Also, the stories I've read seem to make like love is instantaneous and fool proof. Between my student teaching experiences and given the ages of the characters, I just can't such a smooth transition. Love just isn't that easy. Anyone who's been though middle or high school should understand what I mean. Ok, no more babbling on my part.

The pairs

NaruSaku

SasuSaku

NaruHina

DaiHina

KibaHina (possibly, haven't worked that out yet)

KibaOC2

InoCho

InoShika

ShikaTem

LeeTen

NejiTen

NejiOC1

ShinoOC1


	5. Preparations For Examinations

Rider: Yo, sup people. Hopefully you've had a better week than I've had.

Wraiths: What happened to you?

Star: Don't get him started.

Rider: Hate to say it but she's right. As writing is my stress outlet, this chapter is a bit longer than the others, so at least something good came of this. Moveing on. Since the rules say I can't answer each review, let me thank everyone who left a review, or sent me a PM or IM. To those who read silently in the background, and I know you're there cause of the stats page, thanks for reading and I hope you are enjoying even if you don't review. Also, let me address a few general topics of concern that were most repeated.

Yes, Daiki is strong. I'm not going to apologize for that. There is reasoning behind it. It will be explained later.

The pairings are not a vote. If you still want to tell me who you like, I'm completely cool with that. I just don't want people to get the idea that it will change the story. No, I will not release finals.

Finally, if I haven't specifically answered a topic here, give yourself a pat on the back and have a cookie. You've latched onto something important that others haven't yet, and I will say no more to avoid ruining it.

Star: Can we start now?

Rider: _Yosh_!

OOOOO

Spoiler warning: Um, If you've made it this far, I think we're still basically in the clear from the other warnings.

Disclaimer: I own ramen that has naruto in it. I don't own Naruto the series. Bad joke? Yes. Have we seen the last of it? No. I also don't own pokemon…you'll understand when you get there…

OOOOO

A Shinobi's Decision

Chapter Five: Preparations For Examinations

Tsunade cursed the boy who had talked her into becoming Hokage as she started down the newest pile of paperwork. "How did Sarutobi-sensei deal with this for so long? Everyday the piles get bigger." She sighed and resumed shuffling papers from place to place in an attempt to sort them out. Her mind wandered to other aspects of the village as she did so. Namely, her apprentice, her teammate's apprentice, and their new tag along.

It had been roughly a month since the events that had brought the Haruno family back in contact with each other. Tsunade had hoped that by this time he would have made an attempt to get in touch with his estranged family, but even Sakura couldn't seem to get him to budge on that front. His reputation with the rest of the village had vastly improved following his rebuilding of the destroyed homes and businesses over the course of nearly three days. He was not by any means a celebrity or town hero, but they accepted him as something of a permanent guest. Upon hearing of the boy's work Tsunade had inspected the buildings and found them to be little more then shells needing heat, plumbing, and electricity. She had order construction teams to get the additions done as quick as possible. Apparently even Daiki had his limits having only effected the stone, a fact that the Hokage was glad for.

She had become worried by Hiashi's statement that Daiki could turn on them and they'd be facing an unstoppable powerhouse. As time went on it seemed less likely that that was the case. Tsunade herself had seen him nearly pass out on the third day after the last of the area was raised. She had ordered him to bed rest, but he was up and ready to go the next morning after a good night's sleep.

Kakashi had spoken with her at length as well about the visit he had received in the hospital. It upset her that Neji had taken such a risk, but understood that if it came down to it there was really nothing he could have done to stop Daiki at the time. What concerned her was the woman that Daiki had mentioned in passing. An accomplice perhaps? Or a teacher from his own village? Tsunade didn't like that there was yet another shadow that she had to contend with. The fact that Kakashi blatantly ignored it just aggravated her further.

"_Shisho_?"

Tsunade snapped from her thoughts as Sakura called though the door. "_Hai, dozo_."

Sakura brought in a tray with tea. "With Shizune-sempai out on a mission I figured I should look in in her stead."

"You mean make sure I wasn't sleeping?" Tsunade teased as she accepted the clay mug of green tea.

Sakura smiled. "Something like that."

Tsunade looked over her disciple as she drank. In such a short time the girl had grown by leaps and bounds. Having access to the secrets of her clan had allowed her to further accelerate her already speedy learning process. Not only her med-nin training, but her field training as well if the faded black gloves sticking out of her hip pouch were any indication. Tsunade made a note to herself to sit in on one of Sakura's and Daiki's training sessions.

"Have you seen Naruto at all today?" Sakura asked as she leaned against the edge of the desk.

The older woman nodded. "Yes, briefly this morning. With our ranks stretched so thin I had to send a number of people out on missions, including Neji. So I assigned Naruto to watch Daiki today."

Sakura paled. "You forced the two of them to spend time together in close quarters?"

Tsunade blinked. "Why? Is that a problem?"

Sakura turned and began walking back to her training room. "Just don't be surprised if something in the village gets blown up or they kill each other."

Tsunade was left alone in her office suddenly contemplating any number of disastrous events that Sakura had alluded to. She set her cup down and returned to her work, picking up a large, officially sealed letter. "Oh great." She muttered. "Now I have this to deal with too."

OOOOO

Naruto walked out to the training grounds with his hand shoved in his pockets and his shoulders hunched over. Behind him he could hear the gentle crunch of gravel under his follower's footsteps. Naruto spun and pointed an accusing finger at Daiki. "Let's get something straight right now! I don't know why Tsunade-_obaa-chan_ stuck me with you but I have a lot of training to do today! So you better stay out of my way!"

Daiki had his hands laced together behind his head and looked half asleep as he walked with his eyes closed. "Whatever _ahou_."

Naruto growled. "I mean it!"

"Fine, fine." Daiki turned away and flopped down on to the ground on his back. "Just wake me up when you're done."

Naruto had expected more of a fight and stood still a moment as Daiki tacitly gave in. He turned and walked away slowly.

"You know…"

Naruto cringed, he knew it had been to easy. "What?"

"You'll increase the efficiency of your workout if you use some weights on your arms as well as your legs." Daiki replied matter-of-factly as he remained on his back.

Naruto stared. It was a good idea but… "How'd you know about the weights fuzzy brows gave me?"

"Fuzzy brows?" Daiki opened his eyes and looked at Naruto in confusion. His face lit up a moment latter. "Oh! You mean leotard boy." He turned his head and closed his eyes again. "Should have known you didn't think to do that on your own."

"Shut up!" Naruto stomped his way closer to the other boy. "How'd you know?"

"Relax dude." Daiki sat up. "I noticed it the night we ate at the ramen place."

Truth be told, they had eaten at Ichiraku's a number of times and Naruto wasn't sure which time Daiki was referring to. "How?"

Daiki sighed. "I saw you walking funny that first night. Thought you sprained something." He shrugged. "After I had to pick you up I noticed you were a lot heavier, even with taking all that ramen you ate into account." He leaned back and looked into the sky. "How much weight?"

"A hundred kilos altogether." Naruto replied as he turned away.

"Really?" Daiki sat up again. "That's a really fast adjustment." He leaned forward to rest his arms on his knees. "I may have something you can use."

Naruto looked over his shoulder. "Like what?"

"A jutsu I found some months ago. Kept meaning to try it out but never got the chance." Daiki shrugged. "To many other things to do."

Naruto's eyes sparkled at the word jutsu. "Come on! Show me!"

"Not that easy _ahou_." Daiki stood and began to stretch. "If you're not ready for it, it could end up doing more harm than good."

The blonde frowned. "Just what kind of jutsu is this?"

"A support type." Daiki shook himself loose. "One that will help make you stronger, faster, maybe more resilient."

"You don't sound to sure about this." Naruto replied cautiously.

Daiki continued to bounce lightly on his toes. "Like I said, I haven't used it. I think it would better serve you than me though."

"Then show me already!" Naruto insisted.

Daiki continued to bounce lightly. "I will, if I think you're ready." He beckoned Naruto with one hand outstretched. "Let's go."

"You want me to fight you? That's your test?" Naruto cracked his knuckles and adjusted his headband. "Just don't cry later." He jumped back and assumed his opening fight stance, which for Naruto wasn't terribly refined and full of defensive gaps. "Ready?"

"Waiting on you _ahou_." Daiki continued to bounce.

"_Teme_…" Naruto burst forward with astonishing speed and release a right jab followed by a left cross.

Daiki bent at the waist and rotated towards Naruto. He caught Naruto's foot with his ankle and threw his hip out, knocking the leaf-nin off balance. Daiki continued his rotation to land an open hand palm thrust to Naruto's back.

Naruto felt himself falling and placed his hands out. Two hand springs and a mid air twist later he had landed on his feet and was charging again at Daiki. His hand reached into his holster and pulled two kunai. The projectiles raced ahead of him as he prepared the seal. "_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!"

Daiki plucked one of the kunai from mid flight and jabbed it into the nearest clone, reducing it to smoke. He sidestepped the next clone and backhanded it to the head to send it to oblivion. A back flip allowed him to avoid the next clone. Said clone vanished as the kunai passed through him to the ground on the opposite side. He landed in a horse stance and observed the remaining clones.

Naruto sent out the first two only to have them vanish in a spinning hook kick. Naruto's next clone fell victim to a throw that eliminated four clones in all. His final set attacked as one but Daiki managed to avoid all six with practiced ease. Naruto grit his teeth. "Not bad."

"Likewise." Daiki scratched his face. "You're better then I thought you'd be." He moved back into his bouncing movements. "Keep it up. Show me something impressive."

Naruto bent down and lifted his pant legs. He hadn't taken the weights off since Lee had first given them to him. He had no idea what he'd be able to do without the excess weight, but now seemed like a good time to find out. "Ok, no holding back."

Daiki grinned. "Now we'll have some fun." His eyes darted back as Naruto vanished and appeared behind him. His feet remained planted as he leaned to the left and grabbed Naruto's extended fist intending to throw him. He lifted his free hand as Naruto released an ax kick to his head. He forced his head up into Naruto's stomach and threw the boy as a fist raced toward his face. He jumped back and slid lightly across the grass field. Daiki had known that Naruto would be faster, but this degree of improvement was uncanny. He smirked. "Alright then."

Naruto couldn't believe how he was able to move. It wasn't as fast as when he called for the Kyuubi's power, but if he had to guess he was as fast as Lee had been with weights at the chunin exam. He grinned over at his opponent, surprised to see him grinning back. His left foot dug back into the soft soil of the field.

Almost before he realized he had moved Naruto was within Daiki's defense sphere. His punch met with solid resistance as it impacted with Daiki's forearm block. He had no time to think as a knife edge thrust neared his head. Naruto continued to turn, all too aware that Daiki's thumb had grazed his whisker marks. His elbow rushed back towards Daiki's chest as he gained momentum from the spinning movement.

Daiki caught the elbow with his left hand and grabbed Naruto's wrist with his right. Naruto had already given him his back so all he had to do was twist and he immobilized the young blonde with a submission lock. Daiki's eyes went wide as the body vanished into smoke. "_Kage bunshin_?" He saw the next clone below him as a reverse mule kick came towards his chin.

"_U_!" Yelled the first clone as the blow made contact, sending the opposing ninja high into the air. In fact, much higher than he expected as the other clones had to hastily adapt to the new height. "_Zu_!" Came the kick from the left side. "_Ma_!" From the clone to the right. "_Ki_!" The final clone delivered the powerful front kick from below. Naruto couldn't help but feel some smug satisfaction as he moved toward the final hit. "_Naruto Rendan_!" His foot crashed into the boy's forehead with bone crunching force. Naruto landed a few meters away as Daiki crashed into the ground with a jarring thud. He arrogantly scratched his nose and made a fist in the air.

"Ha! I told you not to come crying later!" He stopped as he saw no movement from his opponent. "_Oi, teme_." He moved faster now toward his sparring partner after receiving no response. "_Oi! _Daiki!" He stood over the boy's body. He wasn't moving, he wasn't breathing, and blood ran freely from his forehead. "Damn it! Daiki! Wake up!" He knelt next to the boy. He wasn't Sakura-chan or Tsunade-_obaa-chan_, but Naruto had taken the first aid course same as every other academy graduate. He had to try something. He reached out and touched the boy's neck, only to be rewarded with a plume of smoke and a chunk of log. "_Kawarimi_?"

"Free lesson Naruto."

The blonde spun in just in time to see Daiki pin him to the ground, murderous intent in his eyes and a kunai in hand. Naruto felt his veins turn to ice water and his muscles locked.

Daiki grinned menacingly. "Never assume your enemy is dead." He quickly brought the kunai down where it met with an audile squish.

Naruto's eyes darted to where the blade was imbedded in the mud next to his neck, then up to Daiki's smiling face.

"The bad news is, you're dead." Daiki grinned. "The good news is, you can use the jutsu."

Naruto felt his eye twitch. "You…_Teme_!" He pushed hard into Daiki's chest knocking the boy back into the mud. "I thought you were going to kill me!"

"A month ago I would have." Daiki sat calmly in the mud unfazed. "The lives of ninja are transient things, alliances even more so. We may be ok now, but there may come a day when we're not." He smiled at the shocked expression he saw on Naruto's face. "Not that I plan for that to happen. But what would you have done if I really wanted to kill you? What if someone else tried to kill you?"

"I'd stop you." Naruto replied quickly. His mind flashed back to when Sasuke's hand had been run through his chest. He grabbed at his jacket at the phantom pain surfaced. "I'd stop him."

Daiki shrugged and stood up. "Com on. I'll teach you that jutsu." He extended his hand to boy on the ground, but Naruto didn't move. "What? You need to go change your shorts or something?"

Naruto sprung to his feet at the insinuation. "Shut up!"

Daiki continued to laugh. "Roll up your pant legs." He knelt down to brush the mud off his already exposed legs. "You know how to use summoning techniques right?" He knew the answer already, but this would be the easiest way to introduce the new jutsu to the leaf-nin.

"Of course I do!" Naruto replied in a haughty tone.

Daiki nodded. "Good. Then you know something about blood seals. I want you to think about how heavy those weights were as you do this. Now, repeat after me." He bit into his thumb enough to draw blood. "_O-ushi, O-hitsuji, Ousu-buta, Uma, Tora, Usagi, Ryu._" He wrote each character in blood on his leg as he called the seals out to Naruto. "Now repeat on the other leg." He waited until Naruto had finished. "Now get up and try to walk."

Naruto stood and nearly fell. "It's like back to when I started the weights. I can barely move." He focused his chakra and found he could move again. "What gives?"

"This is a chakra resistance jutsu." Daiki frowned as he saw Naruto didn't get it. "Ok…uh, chakra threads."

"What about them?"

Daiki mentally cheered in his head that he found something the boy would understand. "Rather than using weights, your body is now using chakra threads to limit your movement. Basically your body is creating it's own training equipment."

"Ok, but why waste the chakra?" Naruto asked. "The weights would have done the same."

"Not entirely." Daiki explained. "Weights make you bulk up, trading speed away for power. The resistance chakra strengthen the muscles with minimal bulk so you get both." He held up his hand to cut off Naruto's next statement. "I know, leotard boy is fast. He trains for speed and power because he needs both since he can only use taijutsu. You however are a taijutsu and ninjutsu user. Your training doesn't account for the flaw the way his training does."

Naruto nodded, that made sense. He looked down at the seals on his legs and his head snapped up. "Hey! Could I use these on my arms too? Like you were saying before?"

Daiki nodded. "There's hope for you yet." He waited as Naruto repeated the seals on his arms. "Now the last part I'm going to tell you is this jutsu's greatest weakness and it's greatest strength at the same time." He jumped back a few paces. "Come towards me."

Naruto tried to move and closed the distance. To his surprise he was much more tired than he should be. He looked at his partner confused.

"Your body is using chakra without you even realizing it. You need at least equal chakra under active control to move, so you use up chakra twice as fast." Daiki explained. "That's it's weakness. Until you gain some experience you'll tire fast."

"That doesn't seem good." Naruto replied as he thought about what that meant.

Daiki nodded. "Like I said, that's at first. The benefit is that the jutsu puts strain on a part of you that's thought to be un-trainable. Your chakra reserves and coil system."

Naruto blinked. "What now?"

Daiki groaned and slapped at his forehead. "Uh…water balloons. It's like a water balloon. Every time you fill a water balloon and let it out it can stretch a little bit more. The difference being the balloon will eventually pop, your coils won't. It's like that, the more you use this jutsu, the more your chakra reserves will grow. Similarly, the coils that move the chakra widen and become stronger. Allowing you to use more chakra at a faster pace, letting you perform jutsus faster and easier. Get it?"

This was everything Naruto could hope for in his training, yet something nagged at him. "If this jutsus is so great, why haven't you used it before now?"

"Cause I'm not a freak like you." Came Daiki's lighthearted reply.

"Hey!"

"Relax, you being abnormal is a good thing in this case." Daiki explained. "I take pride in my own reserves, but they're nothing like yours."

Naruto blinked. "Huh?"

"You have quite possibly the greatest chakra reserves I've ever sensed." Daiki continued. "Not to mention that even when you work to exhaustion, to the brink of death, you're perfect the next day. I don't have that option. This jutsu would deplete me too quickly and I'd have too long a recovery time to do any good. With your talent though, it's a perfect match."

Naruto had had to consider _Kyuubi_ many times in the past few months. He was confronted with it yet again now, but this time it seemed different. Rather than having to call to the fox for help he could just use the passive healing ability they shared to recover and become stronger on his own.

"That reminds me." Daiki inadvertently pulled the boy from his thoughts. "Lift your shirt."

"Eh? Why?" Naruto jumped back a bit.

"The seal I placed on you. I forgot about it." Daiki pointed at Naruto's chest. "Let me take it off."

Naruto suddenly had to reconsider Daiki. He had sealed away the _Kyuubi's_ power in their fight. Something only one other man had ever done.

Orochimaru.

Naruto stood still for a moment. He began to wonder just how much Daiki knew of his secret. "What did that seal do exactly?"

The question caused Daiki's head to tilt. "Surely you've noticed you possess two chakras?"

In an unexpected moment of craftiness, Naruto decided to play dumb. "Never thought about it before."

"_Ahou_." Daiki shook his head. "Well, you do. That second one is monstrous. After I saw what you could do with it at the Battle of the End I made the Whirlpool Seal to neutralize it."

"So you were afraid of it's power?" Naruto continued to play stupid.

"Nah." Daiki shook his head. "Just didn't want to have to take extra time that I didn't have."

Naruto decided for the time being he could trust that explanation and lifted his shirt revealing the whirlpool mark on his chest. "And you said I have two chakras? How would that happen?"

Daiki nodded and looked over the seal. "Never met anyone else with two types so I'm not sure how it would happen exactly, though I have my suspicions." He brought his hand back as it began to glow with chakra. "Brace yourself. This is going to hurt." The chakra covered hand flashed forward.

Hurt didn't begin to describe the pain Naruto experienced. It felt as if every fiber in his being was being constantly set aflame, dowsed in ice water, and electrocuted over and over again. He felt a particularly painful variation of this on his stomach as he felt the connection to unusually quiet _Kitsune_ flare back into being. After a moment he realize he was on the ground on his back with Daiki staring down at him. "_Nani_?"

Daiki shook his head. "Nothing, thought I saw something." He helped Naruto to his feet. "Anyway, any time you want to adjust the resistance of the jutsu just retrace the seals and think of a heavier weight. To release it entirely, which you should do if you ever feel faint, is write the _Tori_ seal on your forehead. That'll cancel all the seals at the same time to let you move at full power. Just be careful when you increase the resistance. If you go to fast with out giving your body time to adjust you just might pop like a water balloon after all."

Naruto nodded. "Got it."

"Good." Daiki yawned and moved toward the trees. "I'm going back to sleep." He slumped against a large oak and closed his eyes. "Wake me when it's time to go back for lunch." He began to snore softly as Naruto went about his training.

OOOOO

It was well after noon before they returned to the village proper. Their loud arguing gaining the annoyed glares of more than a few people on the street, allowing her to find them easily. Her fingers pressed together nervously as she stood behind the pole and she had to make a conscious effort to stop her hands from moving as she began to walk toward them. She pushed her blue-black bangs from her view. Her bluish-white eyes fixating on her targets a moment before falling to the ground. Suddenly, two large cerulean orbs were staring back at her.

"_Oi_. Hinata." Naruto waved a hand in front of the girl's face. "You feeling alright?"

"Na-Naruto-kun!" Hinata's head jerked upright and her face turned a brilliant shade of crimson.

Naruto noticed the color immediately. "Eh? Hinata? You're all red." He placed his hand on her forehead. "You have a fever or something?"

Hinata's pulse raced and panic mode kicked in. With a barely stifled cry she jerked to try and remove Naruto's hand. She succeeded, but only because she inadvertently head-butt Naruto in the process.

"Must be some new taijutsu." Daiki chuckled under his breath. "Hinata, use skull bash no jutsu." He continued to laugh quietly at his own little joke, luckily the other two didn't notice.

A slightly disoriented Naruto stood up again. "What just happened?"

Daiki could see that the poor girl was about to have a major melt down. "You tripped over your own damn feet _ahou_. Watch where you're going."

Naruto rubbed his head with a slight groan. "Don't call me that."

"You can't even walk straight." Daiki sighed. "_Ahou_."

Hinata could only stare helplessly as the boys began fighting again. "Na-Naruto-kun…"

"You take that back!" Naruto grabbed Daiki's shirt.

Daiki stepped back causing Naruto to loose his balance and lean forward. He grabbed the bottom of Naruto's jacket and pulled it up over his head, locking the blonde's arms harmlessly in the air. "_Ahou_."

Naruto charged blindly toward the sound of the voice. "_Teme_!"

Daiki sidestepped the sloppy attack and grabbed the back of Naruto's belt, planted him on the ground, and proceeded to sit on his back. "Surrender."

"Never!" Naruto rolled and forced Daiki off him, fixed his jacket, and stood ready for another round. As the two boys faced off, their stomachs growled. He looked at Daiki, who nodded, and both relaxed. "We'll finish this later."

Daiki made a curt sound in reply. He turned to Hinata, somewhat surprised to see her still standing there. "We were going to hit that sukiyaki place for lunch. Want to join?"

"We're getting ramen!" Naruto pointed out quickly.

Daiki spun. "We've had ramen every day for a month! The other places are finally letting me in and I want something different!"

"Tsunade-_obaa-chan_ said you have to stay with me! And I say we're getting ramen!" Naruto shot back.

"She said you have to stay with me _ahou_!" Daiki retorted. "Besides, I always end up paying so I say we're getting sukiyaki!"

"Ramen!"

"Sukiyaki!"

Hinata physically jumped back as the two boys turned on her.

"Where do you think we should go?" The two boys asked at the same time.

Hinata's hands began to press against each other as she looked nervously between the two faces. Truth be told, she didn't care for either. She would have liked to get a light sushi roll and some green tea. Her swallowed hard. "I…well…uh…R-ramen would be nice."

Daiki's head fell as Naruto began dancing in the street. "I hate you Naruto…" He lifted his head. "Fine, fine, whatever." Shoving his hands in his pockets he began to walk to the ramen stand. "We'll get ramen, again." He glared at Naruto. "But next time we go somewhere else!"

Naruto laughed at the statement. "As long as I have to watch you we're getting ramen!"

"A-actually t-that's why I w-was…"

"Forget that _ahou_! I like ramen the much as the next guy, but a little variety is good too!" Daiki replied, still somewhat angry at being outvoted.

They entered Ichiraku's and the old man smiled at them. "Well, if it isn't my two best customers. And one of you brought a date no less."

All three of the young ninja flushed bright red. "Eh!?"

"It's not like that at all!" Naruto yelled.

"Keep your mind on the food old timer!" Daiki followed up.

Hinata sat mumbling to herself quietly. "D-d-date?"

Ichiraku laughed. "Ah, to be young again." He took their orders and turned away. By the time he set the meals down, the children were still fairly red in the face and completely silent.

Daiki was the first to finish his meal. "_Ojii-san_, one miso ramen to go. And a side of those little fish cakes."

Hinata gently pushed her bowl away from her towards Naruto. "N-Naruto-kun? I'm kind of full, would you like the rest?"

Never one to turn down ramen, Naruto gratefully accepted. "Thanks Hinata!"

The girl blushed and turned away. "_H-hai_."

Daiki picked up his order and spun on his stool. He leaned back to look out into the street while he waited for Naruto. "Hurry up _ahou_. I want to go see how Sakura-sama's training is going." He reached into the take out crate and began to eat one of the naruto slices.

Hinata couldn't help but feel her stomach turn a little bit as she watched the boy eat. She could understand having it in ramen or with some pickled dikon, but to eat the fish cake cold always reminded her of the texture of a large school eraser. "Do y-you really like naruto that much?"

Daiki turned to the girl. "I don't like the _ahou_ at all." He paused at the confused look he received and looked at the pink and white disc in his hand. "Oh, this naruto. Yeah, they're good." He spun around again and paid as Naruto, the ninja, finished his meal. "Later Hinata-san."

"Wait." Hinata's hands writhed nervously as the two boys turned. "N-neji-_onii-san_ isn't back so…so _Tou-sama_ assigned me to…to b-be your…

"You're my new chaperone?" Daiki questioned skeptically. He shrugged his shoulder. "Ok then, later _ahou_." He turned and began to walk.

Naruto growled and stared at the boy's back as he walked toward the Tower in the distance.

Hinata saw the look in Naruto's eyes, a look she hadn't seen in months. She was sure he'd deny it, but she saw the need for acceptance in his eyes. The need to be seen as an equal to his newest rival. He was much more like the old Naruto, like he was when Sasuke-san had been with him. "N-naruto-kun?"

The boy turned. "What is it Hinata?"

"If-if you don't have any-anything to do…" Hinata tried to make eye contact, but it lasted only an instant before she looked down at the ground again. "Maybe you would l-like to come with us?" She felt her throat tighten as she considered the words. "M-maybe go l-look in on S-sakura-san?"

Naruto nodded, always excited at the prospect of seeing his teammate and object of affections. "Sure, I'll come with you." He began to run to catch up with Daiki with Hinata close behind him. In his excitement he failed to notice the timid girl's even more subdued manner.

Daiki raised an eyebrow as the two came up along side him, but said nothing.

As they reached the Tower of the Hokage Naruto lead the way up the stairs, charging in in a somewhat blind rush. "Sakura-chan!"

"In here!" Sakura called back franticly.

Naruto threw the door to Tsunade's office, and stopped short. "Eh? What's going on here?"

"Just help us!" Sakura yelled at the confused boy. "Daiki! Get in here!"

The boy entered and also stopped. You could see his lips twist and knew he was quite literally biting his tongue to keep from laughing. He brought his hand to his mouth, but failed to suppress a few snickers from coming out. "Let me guess, the Scar-less Stitching Technique?"

Sakura sighed as Naruto continued to try and pull hers and Tsunade's hands from the wooden desk. "Yes."

Daiki laughed, but then sighed as he extended the crate he carried to Hinata. "Would you mind holding this a second?"

Hinata nodded as she took the still warm ramen from him. "What happened?"

"I told you not to use that one." Daiki shook his head as he walked closer. "I warned you that you weren't ready for that yet."

"Just get us un-stuck." Sakura complained.

"I'm trying!" Naruto pulled harder.

"That hurts!" Tsunade leaned down and head butt Naruto across the room. "You can't use brute force for everything!"

"Says the woman with ogre strength…" Daiki muttered.

"What was that?" Tsunade's eyes flashed with evil intent.

Daiki shook his head, but didn't appear worried. "Sakura-sama, watch carefully. The Scar-less Stitch works by re-knitting the flesh together at the cells smallest level. If you're not careful, anything that gets in the way can be knit in as well. Before you can heal such a wound, you have to know what makes such a wound." He brought his hand up and green chakra began to circulate around it. "_Tanseinaiken no jutsu_."

Sakura held her breath as the blade fell toward her hand, but no pain surfaced. She pulled back and found her hand moved easily. "How?"

"That is quite something." Tsunade rubbed her hands together to regain sensation. "Like a chakra scalpel, but more refined than any I've ever seen."

Daiki shoved his hands in his pockets and turned around, scuffing his feet against the floor as he did so. "No big deal." He took the crate back from Hinata and handed it to Sakura. "Lunch."

"Ramen? Again?" The kunoichi's shoulder's slumped.

Daiki nodded. "I know." He glared at the still unconscious Naruto. "But _ahou_ over there insisted." He shrugged. "Then I got out voted by Hinata-san."

"I…I…_Gomen nassai_." Hinata began to stammer her apology, but was waved off by the boy's hand.

"Forget it. We'll just get something better for dinner." He paused to think about it. "Okanomiyaki? Or maybe sushi? Bah, worry about it later." He turned. "You have a lot of work to make up Sakura-sama, after being stuck to the desk for _kami_ knows how long."

"_Hai…_" Sakura followed out after her cousin and teacher, sounding none to enthused.

"Eat first though."

Sakura blinked, having completely forgotten about her take out, and now realizing just how hungry she was. "_Hai_."

"Hinata-san?"

The blue haired girl jumped as her name was called. "_Hai_?"

Daiki leaned against one of the window sills looking out over the city. "If memory serves, you've shown an interest in medical training. Correct?"

Hinata nodded slowly. "I'm not very good at it though…"

"Might you have some of the salve you made?" Daiki turned to face the girl now. "The one from the exam?" He waited patiently as the girl fumbled nervously through her hip pouch for the small container. He held out his hands, indicating for her to toss it to him.

Instead Hinata walked quickly over and placed it in his hand before retreating away. "It's not the same batch, b-but I made it the s-same way."

Daiki looked at the girl a moment but twisted open the cap on the ointment.

Tsunade watched carefully as Daiki inspected the medicine. "He's not only evaluating the salve." She thought silently. "But Hinata as well. Why?"

Hinata watched in something just short of terror as this boy, known already as being a match for Tsunade in terms of medical jutsu, inspected her work. He sniffed it. Placed it between his fingers. He even tasted it. Just when Hinata felt she couldn't take any more scrutiny, he looked at her, further adding to her anxiety.

"Not very good?" He shook his head. "You don't give yourself enough credit."

Hinata blinked and stepped back like he hit her. "_N-nani_?"

Daiki shrugged. "I'm not going to lie and tell you it's perfect, cause it's not."

Hinata looked down at the ground. "I…I see…."

Tsunade and Sakura both were about to pound Daiki as he continued.

"But, as I'm sure Sakura-sama will tell you, I'm a perfectionist about this stuff." Daiki nodded to the girl as he recapped the container. " You show great talent, especially since you have no formal training. I know jounin who don't make ointments this well crafted." He tossed the little jar back to Hinata. "You might want to consider joining Sakura-sama and I for training. With some practice and a little time you'd likely become a damn fine med-nin." He smiled at the startled girl. "If you want to that is."

Hinata looked around the room at the others, dumbstruck. The only other person to praise her like that, ever, had been Naruto at the exams. Did he really think she could be a medical ninja? And what of her father? The Hyuuga were warriors, not healers. He'd never allow it.

"You should come join us Hinata-chan." Sakura smiled as she rose from her seat at Tsunade's desk now that her meal was finished. "With your Byakugan you could be become an even greater med-nin than Tsunade-sama."

Greater than Tsunade-sama. The words bounced around in Hinata's head. The idea excited her. The fact that it had come from Sakura-san gave her a surprise as well.

Sakura.

The woman whom Naruto strove for. Perhaps if she could be a bit more like Sakura-san, Naruto might notice her more. The thought caused Hinata's face to become quite red. She also was forced to admit something to herself. She was ever so slightly jealous of Sakura-san. Her abilities, her beauty, her personality. She gripped her fists at her sides, ashamed of the thoughts

_You can be whatever you want to be Hina-chan, and be whoever you chose to be. Never forget that_.

"I…I would like to s-start training as a…a med-nin." She looked up at Tsunade and then at Daiki. "I want to try."

Tsunade noticed the tears at the corner of the girl's eyes and wondered what had just gone through the girl's mind. "Ok then. You can start working with Daiki and Sakura now."

"Eh?" Hinata raised her hands to her lip. "But…_Tou-sama_…"

Tsunade grimaced inwardly at the thought of Hiashi's reaction to this, but a conniving smile played out on her face to hide this. "You know, I just remembered that Neji has a large stack of missions waiting for him. Hinata-chan? Would you mind acting as Daiki's handler until Neji is able to return to his duties?"

Hinata swallowed as the three med-nin grinned at her. "_Hai_! I'll do my best."

Tsunade smiled warmly. "Good. Now all of you get out of here and get to work."

Hinata looked around as the two Harunos made their way toward the door. "Shouldn't we get Naruto-kun?"

Daiki looked back over his should at the boy slumped against the far wall. "I guess we should bring him. Hinata-san, would you mind waking him up and meeting us upstairs?"

Hinata watched in full distress as Daiki turned and exited the room. "_N-n-nani_?"

OOOOO

It was well after dark when he appeared again. Tsunade rubbed her temples. "What?"

"I've got a problem." Daiki appeared in a puff. "And I take it you do too." He looked down at the seal hidden in his scuff mark from earlier. "Otherwise you would have gotten rid of this."

"What do you want?" Tsunade asked.

"You first."

The Hokage frowned, but was tired enough to not contest the issue. "You've already seen the letter, con artist spy."

Daiki bowed as if paid a compliment.

"_Kumogakure_ is saying they can't host the Chunnin Exam in four months as they were supposed to." She lifted the letter in question and tossed it to the boy. "They say it's because of an internal dispute and would like us to hold the exam again."

Daiki looked over the letter. "Cloud was knocked out of the last exam quickly, it is possible that they don't know about the attack you suffered." He paused. "Then again, they would have certainly heard about the death of the previous Kage."

Tsunade nodded. "Our relationship with _Kumogakure_ has been…strained…over the past few years."

"For what reason?"

"Classified." Tsunade replied curtly. "I susspect that Cloud is planning an attack on us by wanting the exam held here again. Normally I'd send a team to investigate, but I don't have the man power to do so at the moment."

"Then we're both in luck." Daiki nodded. "I need to get out of the village for a couple of nights. I'll check on Cloud while I'm out."

"Why do you need to go out of the village?" Tsunade wanted the plan to work that easily, but she still had to be careful of this kid.

"Classified." Daiki replied with a smug grin. "We need a cover for my absence though." He thought a moment. "_Oi_! _ANBU no baka_! Get your asses in here!"

Tsunade looked at the boy in confusion, then caught on. "_Tora_! _Inu_!" The smoke puffed and the two ANBU operatives appeared. "This brat just threatened me. Take him into custody."

The two ANBU, having been listening earlier, looked at their leader in confusion. "Hokage-sama?"

The older woman looked at the boy. "We'll take care of the rest."

Daiki gave a mock salute and vanished in a puff of smoke.

OOOOO

From the darkness emerged a voice. "What do you want?"

The silver-blue haired man adjusted his glasses. "He wants to see you." The man felt the queasy sensation he always received when the eyes began to open.

"Well…" The crimson eyes, each with three swirling black dots, fixated on the man. "Let's not keep Orochimaru waiting then."

End Chapter Five

OOOOO

Wraiths: Hinata! I choose you! Use Skull Bash no jutsu!

Rider: (running franticly after his plushie) Don't throw Hinata-chan around!

Star: _Baka_…

Rider: Uh, yeah, yeah, anyway. Hope you all enjoyed. Please leave a little something if you have time. All help greatly accepted.

Wraiths: Later people.

Star: _Ja mata minna_!

Rider: 'Till the next, live well all.

OOOOO

Jutsu Glossary

Unnamed Blood Seal

The seals of ox, ram, boar, horse, tiger, rabbit, and dragon are written in blood on the areas intended to be restricted in movement. The effects of this jutsu are still under review. -ANBU investigation unit.

Tanseinaiken no jutsu - Effortless Blade Technique

A seemingly more advanced version of the medical chakra scalpel. Used to make incisions so fine the person can't detect the cut.


	6. Caged Birds

Rider: Greetings everyone, hope you're all doing well. Meant to have this up a few days ago but got royally frocked over by a couple of my profs and had to delay.

Wraiths: Frocked? The dressed you up as a medieval monk?

Rider: (stares, shakes head) Hopefully those of you who can read between the line know what I was going for more than Wraiths.

Wraiths: Hey!

Star: Can we make fun of the flame?

Rider: There is one thing I want to address from that actually. If you're still reading, you know who you are. Even in the main cannon Naruto would do anything for Sakura. If anyone made Naruto out to be Sakura's bitch as you put it, it was Kishimoto's doing long before I. Just something to consider. Ok! Moving on! Enjoy the story everyone!

OOOOO

Spoiler warning: I think we're still good so far as you're current to the time skip.

Disclaimer: Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, Kakashi… ( spends the next twelve hours naming all the characters) do not belong to me. I believe you all already knew this. OC's are mine though, or perhaps they're the products of the voices in my head. Eh, either way…

OOOOO

A Shinobi's Decision

Chapter Six: Caged Birds

"_Baika no jutsu_!"

Sakura barely managed to jump out of the way as the rolling ball of doom named Choji rampaged past her. "Damn it…" She growled. When had Choji's Meat Tank become so fast?

"_Kage Mane no jutsu_!"

Naruto took to the trees to avoid Shikamaru's shadows. He moved quickly from branch to branch to avoid the black tentacle like pursuers. "_Kage Bunshin no jutsu_!" There was a cloud of smoke and a series of clones split out in all directions.

"That technique is so troublesome." Shikamaru sighed as he recalled the shadow mimicry. There was no point to try and track all the clones other then to waste his chakra. He leapt back as kunai flashed out from on of the trees. He needed a plan, unfortunately, Naruto was one of the hardest people to make an effective plan for against for the chunin. Naruto just never seemed to move as he expected him to. "Ino!" He quickly shot a shadow stream towards Sakura. "_Kage Mane no jutsu_!"

The purple clad Ino's hands quickly formed a series of seals as she saw Shikamaru's attack make contact. "_Shin Ten Shin no jutsu_!"

Sakura cringed as she heard the technique called out. She remembered it, some what, from fight at the Chunin exam. "Naruto! If you let Ino-pig get in my head again I'll kill you!"

"_Wakata-dattebayo_!" Naruto suddenly appeared in pathway between Ino and Sakura. "I won't let you…" There was a brief pause, then a terrified scream from Naruto's lips. "I'm in his body!"

Shikamaru stared. "I thought that jutsu only affected women! How is that…" The young genius' eyes opened wide. "Ino! Get out of there!" His warning came to late as the clone vanished and Ino's body remained slumped on the ground. He sighed in annoyance. "This is why I hate planning for Naruto. I doubt he planned it, but he always gets that luck of his to pull him out."

Naruto laughed as a small army of clones dropped out of the trees to create a protective barrier around Sakura. "Now at least the odds are evened out."

Shikamaru looked back as Choji returned to his rear guard position. The chunin had hoped to press their two to three advantage by having Ino take over Sakura. Now it was two on two.

Sakura ran through her options quickly. Ino's mind would find her way back to her body in a few minutes. They needed a plan that would make them victorious while the odds were still even. If she saw things accurately, she and Choji were about equal in strength. Naruto's unpredictability and Shikamaru's unmatched ability to plan ahead seemed to cancel each other out. If they could… "Eh? Why am I?" She suddenly began to run towards Naruto. "Naruto! The _kage mane_ is still in effect!"

Fortunately for Naruto, her first attack landed on a clone. "Alright, then I'll just knock out Shikamaru!" The clones turned as one and began to chase after the shadow wielder. He didn't realize it but his actions forced Shikamaru to change his strategy, in turn eliminating Sakura's attacks at his back.

"_Baika no jutsu_! _Heika_!" Choji's giant arms sweep through the organge onslaught. He instantly spotted the one body that leapt out of the way in time. "Bad enough that you got Ino." His arms retracted as he took aim on the mid-air Naruto. "You're not getting Shikamaru too! _Baika no jutsu_! _Heika_!"

Naruto rolled out of the way as the over-sized palms battered their way through the trees. He pushed himself quickly to his feet as Sakura landed with an inner crescent kick to the area he had just been lying on. He sparred with Sakura, attempting not to hurt her and not let her hurt him either. So long as she was caught in the shadow mimicry they were at a disadvantage. If Sasuke were here he could dispel the shadow with one of his fire jutsu, but Naruto didn't know any fire style attacks. He flipped back to lessen the blow as Sakura punched him in the jaw. "Even the light thrown from the Chidori would…" Naruto stopped in mid-sentences as the thought passed through his lips. He landed in a crouch and swept Sakura's legs. Shikamaru saw it coming and moved his puppet out of the way, giving Naruto the time he needed. "_Kage Bunshin no jutsu_!"

Sakura paled as she saw the sphere of chakra forming in Naruto's hand. "What are you doing?!" Her eyes locked with her teammate, and saw the unstoppable determination he harbored. If she could have, she would have nodded to him. Since that was impossible at the moment, she said the only thing she could to let him know she was ready. "I trust you."

Naruto nodded as a grin began to spread over his face.

Shikamaru grimaced as Naruto began his charge. "Troublesome…" He leapt back trying to take Sakura out of harms way. "Idiot doesn't know the meaning of the word restraint." Unfortunately at this range with the _kage mane,_ his agility was hampered. "Choji! Get ready!"

Choji, seeming to pick up on the same ideas as his team leader, began to move toward Sakura.

Sakura saw the near unstoppable boy nearing her as Shikamaru moved her into a defensive stance to combat Naruto. "Whatever you're doing! Do it already!"

Naruto jumped high setting up for a flying kick. As Sakura crossed her arms in front of her chest to brace herself, the clone grabbed the back of his shirt. Naruto was whipped around in a single spin and hurled toward the girl, palm extended.

Sakura had to resist screaming as Naruto shot through her legs. She glanced back and saw the shimmering chakra sphere nearing the shadow band, it's swirling lights dissolving the dark binding. "I can move." The thought shot through her mind. Her attention turned to the charging Choji and she instantly began pumped chakra into her fists. "_Gomen ne Choji-kun_." She spun and planted her fist into Akamichi's stomach.

"Choji!" Shikamaru watched in shock as Choji sailed through the air before crashing into a particularly deep rooted tree that would not budge to let him pass.

The heavy-set boy slumped slowly to the ground. He turned his head and smiled at his teammate. "Sorry Shikamaru…I'm going to…" His eyes began to droop. "Take a little…nap."

"Don't worry about him!" Naruto yelled as he neared Shikamaru. "You've got bigger problems!" He flipped to his feet and began to race towards the captain. "_Rasengan_!"

"That's enough!"

Naruto looked back at the hand holding his wrist. "I wasn't going to actually hit him with it Kakashi-sensei." Naruto looked forward and saw Asuma-sensei standing in front of his student with his strange knuckle-knife weapon ready. Naruto wondered absently what the tiny dagger would have been able to do against the Rasengan. "I was going to stop before it got to him."

Kakashi let go of his student's wrist. "I'd like to believe that Naruto, but you'll understand my caution given that control has never really been your strongest attribute."

With a grunt, Naruto let the chakra in his hand dissipate. "I've gotten a lot better though! I've been training every day to get better!"

"It's true Kakashi-sensei." Sakura called from across the field as she knelt beside Choji. "I don't know what the two of them do out there, but Daiki and Naruto have been at it almost every day." Warm green chakra began to circulate in her palms as she laid her hands on Choji's back.

"That _teme_ has nothing to do with this!" Naruto insisted. "He hasn't even come out with me the last few days! He's been locked up in the Hyuuga place cause he upset Tsunade-_obaa-chan_!"

"Ok, ok." Sakura placated him. She turned to Choji as he sat up. "_Daishobu_?"

Choji rubbed his stomach gingerly, but the lingering pain was already vanishing. "What the hell'd you eat for breakfast this morning?" He smiled up at the girl. "Cause whatever it was, I want some!"

Sakura smiled at her friend. "Just some quick _onigiri_. Girl's got to watch her figure you know."

"Some figure." Groaned Ino as he regained consciousness. "Ninety percent of it is in her forehead."

Veins popped at Sakura's temples. "Better than looking like you Ino-pig!"

Asuma scratched his head. "Well, they're fine. I guess."

Kakashi nodded. "Yeah, guess so." He looked over his team carefully, their growth astounded him. Sakura being able to stand blow for blow with a member of the Akamichi clan, let alone the prodigy who had proven to have the inhuman toughness needed to survive using all three of the Houren Pills in succession. "What the hell has Tsunade been teaching her?" He wondered silently.

The copy ninja's attention turned to Naruto. "And this kid." He resisted the urge to shake his head. "Avoiding the _kage mane _onset, disrupting the _Shin Ten Shin, _freeing his teammate from the _kage mane_ after it had been established." He didn't doubt that Naruto would have been able to stop before hurting Shikamaru, it had been instinct that caused Kakashi to react. Naruto was still young, but he was unstoppable in his adapting to anything the world threw at him. "It won't be long before he surpasses me. Surpasses all of us." He turned and began to walk away, looking at the sky. "Perhaps, even you, _Sensei_."

Naruto blinked. "Kakashi-sensei? Where're you going?"

"You're done training for now. My observing is done." He waved without looking back. "Godaime-sama has said she has a mission for me. So I guess I'll see you later."

Asuma sighed as his peer vanished in a puff of smoke. "Of course he left me to give the last part of the message." He sighed as he lit up his cigarette. "Naruto, you need to go get Daiki from the Hyuuga compound."

"Eh!? Why me?" Naruto complained.

"To be honest, I don't know." The jounin puffed gently on the cancer stick. "Those were simply the orders from the Hokage. Get him and bring him to the Hokage's office. Understood?" He debated briefly on thinking up a way to get back at Kakashi for leaving him this task, then decided that letting him deal with Naruto's crabby attitude was retribution enough.

"Yeah, yeah. I'll get him." Naruto grumbled.

Asuma chuckled as he turned to his own team. "I have to get my mission from Hokage-sama as well. You guys are free to do as you want for now."

Shikamaru nodded. "All right." He waited as his instructor vanished before turning to the others. "I've had enough of training today. I'm going to find something less troublesome to do."

Ino pulled her watch from her hip pouch. "I told my parents I'd watch the shop." She turned and began to walk.

The other's watched as the two teammates walked back towards the village proper. Naruto turned to Choji. "You're not going with them?" Naruto shrugged as Choji shook his head. "I guess I'll go get _teme_. Want to come?"

"Actually," Sakura spoke up. "If you don't have anything to do, I was hoping you'd train with me a little bit longer Choji-_kun_."

Choji looked surprised by this. "Sure, ok."

Naruto grimaced. "Now I have to deal with him alone."

"He's not that bad." Sakura smiled. "I'll meet up with you guys later." She waited until Naruto had gone to turn to Choji. "Choji-_kun_?"

"Yeah?"

"You're probably one of the strongest people I know." Sakura kept her voice as even as possible. "I remember how quickly you recovered after…"

Choji grinned as Sakura looked away. "I got lucky. There are lots of people stronger than me. Lee, Kiba, maybe even Naruto, not to mention Neji and…"

"Choji-_kun_, I need you to not hold back." Sakura finally admitted.

The boy blinked. "What?"

"I need you to fight me full force." Sakura's eyes silently pleaded as she explained her case. "I know Naruto won't go all out on me. But I can't leave him to carry this burden to get Sasuke back all on his own. I don't want you to put yourself in danger, but I want you to fight me like you fought your opponent during that mission. I need to get so much better than I am now. Will you help me?"

Choji felt himself blush slightly at the request. Her motivations were so…personal. He felt embarrassed that she would trust him with information as they had never been particularly close. "Yeah. I can do that." He pulled a bag of chips from his pouch and ate the contents quickly before shoving the trash in his pocket. His hands rushed through the seals. "_Baika no jutsu_!"

Sakura rolled out of the way, somewhat surprised at the speed and ferocity of his attack. She smiled inwardly, this is what she needed. She jumped to her feet and rushed toward the boy. "Just wait Sasuke-_kun_. We'll rescue you." She thought silently as she lashed out at Choji in a counter attack. "I'll save you from the darkness."

OOOOO

"I'm telling you I'm here on orders from Tsunade-_obaa-chan_!"

Neji was passing through the hallway when he heard the familiar, and extremely loud, voice.

"We have had no such orders from Hokage-sama or Hiashi-sama." Replied the first guard.

"We can not allow you entry." Added the second.

"If you do don't get out of my way and let me get that stupid _teme_, I'm going to wipe the floor with you!" Naruto yelled back.

Neji sighed and moved towards the compound gate. "It's ok. Let him through." He moved into sight of the two guards. "I'll take him from here."

The guards stepped back in perfect synchronization. "_Hai, Neji-sama_!"

Naruto blinked at the way that the guards retreated from the boy, but followed after his friend silently. After they had made sufficient distance into the compound his curiosity got the better of him. "So, things are better?"

Neji stopped and turned, confused by the question. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's just…" Naruto looked back at the gate. "Last time we spoke, well maybe not the last time with the mission and all but…"

"Naruto, get to the point." Neji kept his voice even, already suspecting where his friend was going with this conversation.

"You said you hated the head clan or something, but the seem to take your orders well enough." Naruto shrugged nervously. "I just wondered if things had gotten better?"

"Thing are not quite as I had hoped they would be but," Neji recalled the conversation he had had with Hiashi-sama after his fight with Naruto. He decided for the time being he wanted the contents of that discussion that to remain between him and his uncle. "Yes, things have gotten better."

"That's good." Naruto placed his hands behind his head as they continued to walk. "I haven't forgotten the promise I made to you, but I'm glad you were able to change things a bit earlier."

"Neji-_onii-san_? Who are you talking to?" Called a voice from around the corner.

Neji turned and bowed to the little girl. "Hanabi-_sama, _this is Naruto."

Hanabi looked over the orange clad ninja. "The loser who beat you at the exam. Correct?"

Naruto's temple throbbed and his teeth ground against each other. "Who you calling a loser _gaki_?" Fortunately, Naruto had the presence of mind to not make a fist in threat at the much younger girl.

"Hanabi-_sama_, I would appreciate it if you didn't use such terms to describe my friends." Neji replied calmly.

Hanabi stared at Neji a moment. "Just because my father has taken a liking to you doesn't mean you're a member of the main family." She turned and pushed her way past Naruto. "You'd do well to remember your place."

Naruto felt his control slip as he took a step after the girl. "Why you little b…" He stopped at Neji grabbed his arm.

Neji just shook his head. "As I said, things are not quite the way I had hoped they would be."

Naruto let out a huff and followed after the older boy. "I don't care if you're different branches or whatever. You're still family. She shouldn't talk to you that way."

Neji smiled as he lead them into the main family's main house. "When you become Hokage, you tell her that." He took them to the center of the compound where they found the two people they were looking for.

"_Ohaiyo Hinata_!" Naruto called out as he neared.

Said girl jumped nearly a foot as she heard the voice. Panicked thoughts raced through her mind as to why Naruto was in her house and how quickly could she run away before she died of embarrassment. For better or worse fear kept her rooted to her seat once she landed from her jump. "_O-o-ohaiyo N-naruto-kun._"

Neji noted the color of Hinata's face instantly. He had begun to suspect her tendencies around him as far back as the preliminary fights. Naruto's words kept Hinata going long after she should have quit, but he had attributed that to heat of the moment actions. Seeing her reaction now made him wonder if there was perhaps something more at play. He had for longest time resented Hinata and everything she represented. Recently he had taken on roll of a protector to her, by choice rather than by birth. It was strange to him to be so concerned about her. He glanced over at Naruto and saw he was oblivious. Neji was afraid for Hinata that Naruto's carefree nature would end up hurting her, and at the same moment, he felt that there was no person he would trust Hinata's well being to more than the man who had saved him from his own personal demons. As Naruto walked away, Neji decided to back pocket these thoughts for the moment.

Naruto looked around the courtyard and found Daiki in an all to familiar position, namely on his back, on the ground, staring at the sky. "_Oi_! Get up lazy _teme_!"

Daiki didn't move. "_Iie_."

Naruto's eye began to twitch with frustration as he stomped his way across the dirt courtyard. "Tsunade-_obaa-chan_ wants you in her office and I have to bring you there. Now let's go!"

"Naruto," Daiki yawned slightly in the mid-morning sun. "If you promise to shut the hell up for a moment, I'll show you the new jutsu I'm working on even now."

"Eh? New jutsu?" Naruto continued to move closer. "What's it called?"

"_Aozora no jutsu_." Daiki replied softly. "Would you like to see how it works?"

Daiki's low voice forced Naruto to move closer still. "Yeah, sure, why not?"

"It's really very simple." Daiki's voice became even lower. "First you have to be on your back." His voice dropped again. "It's to lure your opponent into a false sense of security. Then when they get close enough you…"

Naruto leaned forward slightly as Daiki trailed off. "Hey! Speak up! I can't hear you." He felt something connect to the back of his knee and suddenly Naruto was on his back, staring up at the blue sky.

Daiki rolled around on the ground laughing hysterically. "Oh _Kami_, how dumb are you?" He continued to laugh. "I swear, mention jutsu and you're more gullible than a four year old." He screamed as Naruto was suddenly on top of him ready to beat him senseless.

Naruto looked down at the log that replaced Daiki a moment later. "Where?" He spotted Daiki sitting next to Hinata with a mug of tea, which he raised in mock greeting. "I hate that guy." Naruto muttered. "Just wait, he's going to push me too far one day and I'll catch him for real." He stood and rejoined the others. "Come on _teme_. _Obaa-chan_ wants you in her office."

Daiki sighed and finished his tea quickly, causing the others to grimace as he downed the steaming hot liquid as though it were nothing. "Alright, alright." He looked between the two Hyuuga relatives. "Which one of you is coming?"

"You're with me." Naruto interrupted. "So don't bother them."

Daiki looked at the other boy. "I'm not spending any more time with you than I absolutely have to _ahou_. One of them need to come so I can get rid of you after I deal with your boss."

Naruto's eye twitched more rapidly. "Fine! I don't want to be around you either! I have more important things to do than baby-sit you!"

"Good!"

"Great!"

Neji cleared his throat loudly. "I unfortunately have work I need to see to, so I am unable to accompany you."

Daiki looked at Hinata. "_Anatawa_?"

Hinata swallowed hard as everyone's eyes were suddenly on her. "I…I don't have a-anything to do. I'll go."

"_Domo kami_." Daiki sighed. "You're a life saver Hinata-san."

Hinata blushed at the comment. "It's…nothing really."

Naruto turned and began to walk back toward the main gate. "Let's go already."

OOOOO

Tsunade looked up as someone knocked on her door. "_Hai, dozo_." She smiled as Naruto walked in. "I see you got my message, that's great."

"Yeah." Naruto muttered. He was about to make a comment when he saw the Hokage's face harden as Daiki entered the room. "_Ano_?"

"Naruto. Hinata. Please wait outside." Tsunade's tone left no room for argument. "_Gaki_ and I need to talk about the events that lead to him being arrested."

Naruto grinned as he left the room. "Got in trouble huh?"

"Bite me _ahou_." Daiki replied calmly as the two gennin left the room. He sighed. "May as well call everyone in."

Tsunade nodded. "Assemble." At the single word the room filled with smoke and nearly three to four dozen shinobi filled the room. "Kurenai, if you wouldn't mind?"

The genjutsu specialist nodded once before performing the seals. "_Yowakusurunai no jutsu_." She waited a moment before nodding again. "The room is soundproofed Hokage-sama. No one outside this room will hear anything."

Tsunade nodded. "I don't know how Sarutobi-sensei conducted his meetings, but I will be right to the point. So listen carefully cause I don't intend to repeat myself." She looked around the room to ensure that she had everyone's attention. "You all know of the upcoming Chunin exams to be held in _Kumogakure_ in just under four months. What you likely don't know is that Cloud has sent us a request that we host the exams again."

Asuma lifted his head at this. "Aren't there guidelines that prohibit any village from hosting the exams twice in a row?"

Kakashi nodded. "There are, but there are also provisions that if a village can not host the exam for unforeseen reasons they may request that the test be held at another village of their choosing."

"Does Cloud have a valid reason for such a request?" Gai asked.

Tsunade waited until the other's quieted. "I've been questioning Cloud's motives as well. With our mission quotas so overtaxed however we haven't been able to send any of our people to investigate."

"Then what are we here for?" Questioned a scar-face ninja in the back.

"Cause you happen to have gotten lucky that I needed to stretch my legs and went in your stead." Daiki replied as he leaned against one of the windows. "Rather than tell people over and over again, it was decided that I'd just report my findings all at once to everyone."

Gai took a slight step forward. "After what you did to Kakashi why should we trust anything you have to say?"

"Gai…" The silver haired jounin began.

"Shut up Sharingan." Daiki replied coldly. "I don't need you to fight my battles." He turned to Gai. "Trust me or don't. I really don't care. But considering your team is about to walk into a potential trap I'd think you'd at least have the foresight to listen to what I found." He waited as he got no response. "Now, if you're done being stupid we can continue."

"Wait a minute." Kurenai leaned in, a concern of her own at the forefront of her mind. "Weren't you in custody this past week? How do you know anything about what's going on in Cloud?"

Daiki threw his hands up in the air. "Underneath the underneath! _Kami-sama_! How are you people still alive?"

Tsunade couldn't help but laugh under breath at the boy's theatrics. "We suspected that there might be a spy from _Kumogakure_ or one of their allies in our village. Having a known threat simply leave and come back would have drawn attention. With the help of some ANBU we staged Daiki-_kun_ assaulting me in a drunken rage."

Daiki turned, the shock of this new information clearly readable on his face. "A drunken?" He turned away and faced the window. "You will pay for that. As well as the kun comment."

Tsunade grinned, seemed the kid did have buttons that could be pushed.

"That still doesn't make sense though." Asuma, ever the tactician, proposed. "Lightning County's boarder is easily a three to four week journey for an experience jounin. Another week on that to reach the Hidden Village in the Clouds." His eyes narrowed on the boy. "There's no way that you could have gotten there and back in under a week."

"I told you. I needed to stretch my legs." Daiki grinned. "I have very long legs."

Kakashi didn't like the way that Daiki was grinning. Something nagged at the back of his mind. It wasn't threatening in and of itself, but he was sure he'd seen similar grins elsewhere and it unsettled his stomach. He could deal with that later. "What did you find?"

Daiki frowned at his former enemy, annoyed that the Sharingan, Kakashi he reminded himself after the fact, had ruined his little bit of fun teasing at the older ninja. "Fine, since I sort of owe you one I'll get to the point." He leaned back against the window. "Plain and simple, you're screwed."

Kakashi raised his eyebrow. "That's helpful."

"I'm getting there." The boy growled. "Cloud is up to something but the specifics seem to be held by a very few they aren't releasing info until the time of attack. Troop count is at least five and half thousand."

"Five and half?" Asuma almost dropped his cigarette. "It's unheard of to have that kind of numbers in a village."

Daiki nodded. "Most villages max out at about two and half. Leaf and Sand are slightly larger with closer to three." He looked up. "Good point is that seems to be about the number of shinobi. The remaining two and a half look like mercs hired to bolster their numbers." He shrugged. "Not that you can discount their skills, but mercs tend to run if the feel their not going to get paid. Take out enough of their employers and they'll take off to even out the numbers."

"You talk like we're still going to head into Lightning territory." Kurenai replied shocked.

Daiki looked between Tsunade and Kakashi. "You tell them, they won't believe me."

"We have to go." Kakashi stated finally.

Gai turned in disbelief. "_Nani_?"

Tsunade took this time to stand from her desk. "Because it's the only option that will protect Konoha." She waited again until she had the attention of the jounin in the room. "If we don't go and hold the exam here again we invite Cloud to our door mats." She shook her head. "We're barely recovered from Orochimaru's attack, not to mention…" She looked over at the boy against the window.

"Hey, I fixed what I broke." Daiki replied without looking up. "Leave me out of this."

Tsunade huffed. "Similarly, if we decline and try to pass the exam to another village we look like we haven't recovered." She sighed. "We send out our teams to another village leaving us less defended while simultaneously broadcasting the fact that we truly aren't recovered and Cloud ends up at our gates anyway."

"What happens if Cloud passes the exam to another village?" Asuma pointed the clear flaw in this line of logic. "That'll send us right back to the second scenario."

Tsunade nodded. "We've sent word to Cloud that we've receive intelligence that force is prepared to move against us along with photos of their troops from angles that obscure their _haiatte_. We're hoping that they will realized that their plan is compromised rather than blown outright and instead think they can lure us in to their own village."

Kakashi actually felt himself nodding in appreciation of the plan. "Since we will be in fact walking into a trap I assume that the teams that will be attending the exam are limited?"

Tsunade nodded. "Fortunately, the newest crop of gennins will be graduated for only a month by the time that we will depart for Cloud. Their jounin instructors have already been informed that their teams will not be ready for recommendation to the exam by such time." She paused letting the other instructor piece together the rest.

"But teams that appeared at the previous exam will be expected to show." Kurenai voiced what everyone was thinking.

"Not all teams." Gai replied.

"But at least all those that had members to make it to the finals." Asuma agreed to the silent assessment.

The Hokage took her seat again and placed her interlocked hands before her face. "Kakashi, Gai, Asuma, and Kurenai, you have ten weeks to make sure your teams are ready for the exams. While I would like to believe that they are experienced enough at this point to appreciate the finer details of this mission, the fact remains that they are still very much kids as well and not the best had maintaining the calm exterior needed to not alert our enemy." She paused as she considered the next statement. "I will leave the final choice up to you, but I am going to recommend that you not tell them what is going on fully just yet." She looked past her four instructors to the other jounin in the room. "The rest of you have twelve weeks to get this place as battle ready as possible in case Cloud decided to try their luck at us anyway. Any questions?" No one spoke. "Very well then. Kurenai, stay a moment. The rest of you are dismissed."

Daiki was slower to move out of the room. "My chaperones are outside. May want to make yourself scarce a moment while I leave." His statement was clearly directed at Kurenai as watched him. He grinned impishly as he neared the door. "Kurenai-san? Would you mind dispelling the genjutsu around the door a moment?"

The jounin nodded and dispelled the jutsu as she saw him bring one finger to his lips. She raised an eye brow as Daiki kicked the door. A moment later she understood as she heard a thump and Naruto's outraged voice on the other side, along with Hinata's concern voice. Kurenai quickly hid herself with an illusion as Daiki opened the door.

"Why'd you do that?" Naruto was still sitting on the ground holding his ear.

Daiki stepped over the boy. "Cause you're terrible at spying." He motioned for Hinata to follow him upstairs. "Later _ahou_. Hinata-san and Sakura-sama have training to do."

Tsunade watched as the children when their separate ways and the door closed with a small click. She stood and sighed as Kurenai reappeared from out of the illusion. Like Daiki had a moment earlier, the Hokage pressed her finger to her lips.

Kurenai watched in confusion as Tsunade inspected the floor where Daiki had been standing. When it was determined safe to talk, she asked the obvious question. "What was that?"

The sannin sighed as she returned to her seat. "Brat has a way of leaving little presents behind. I wanted to make sure we were alone before speaking." Tsunade leaned over across the desk. "I know you don't like him, but I want you to speak with Hiashi."

Kurenai clenched her jaw a moment in surprise. "You…haven't heard?"

Tsunade felt her stomach twist as the question hit the air. "What? What haven't I heard?"

Kurenai looked out toward the window a moment. "The succession has all but been finalized. If we go to Cloud, there is no doubt that…"

"He wouldn't dare!" Tsunade stood as Kurenai trailed off.

"You know what Hinata-_chan_ is like." Kurenai replied softly. "When I asked her about it she simply got quiet and said she didn't want to talk about it." She faced her Hokage, concern readable on her features. "I had to have Gai ask Neji about it."

Tsunade turned away, or risk destroying her third desk in as many months. "When?"

"I don't know." Kurenai shook her head. "Technically, Neji is head of the Branch Family now that he knows about his father. He's been stalling as much as possible, even getting the Hyuuga Family Council to hold an official vote to hold off the final decision." She swallowed hard. "_Godaime-sama_, you must step in."

Tsunade pressed her fist against the window. "I wish that I could. You have no idea how much I wish I could, but even as Hokage I can't interfere in the affairs of a clan like that."

"It will destroy her." Kurenai knew that Tsunade knew this already, but she needed to say the words. "She's just finally coming out of her shell and into her own." She looked at the giant gambler kanji on her leader's back. "Being turned into a caged bird will destroy her."

OOOOO

Rider: Well? What do you all think? Good? Bad? Other? If you have a moment please leave a little something to let me know. And thanks again for reading.

Star: Bye _minna-san_!

Wraiths: Later.

Rider: 'Till the next, live well all.


	7. Between the Past and Future

Rider: Well, things didn't go quite as planned on a number of various fronts. So yeah, sorry about the slow update. This was actually ready nearly a week ago, but the servers are buggy as hell and wouldn't allow me to post for some unknown reason. As it is, I'm resorting to the export method to get this in. Honestly, these supposed upgrades to the site seem to be more hindrance than help. If anyone knows what's going on, or how to contact an admin for that matter, please let me know cause this is getting annoying. Hopefully, formatting will not be too adversely effected with the slightly unorthodox entry method.  
Wraiths: Two weeks for an update is still better than, oh I don't know nearly a year.  
Rider: Yeah, well…(shrugs) Anyway, this chapter was a pain to get through, mostly because I really didn't have nice block of time to just let it all flow out like I usually do. As a result it was rewritten a number of times between research projects and trips to the ER, kami-sama did that suck, and went in a direction I really hadn't planned on originally. Still, over all I like the way it turned out.  
Star: So, we starting?  
Rider: In a second, to address one topic that came up from a few people via review, IM, and PM. The pairs are not going to happen simultaneously. I think I may have confused a few people on that. The relationships will be one-one while their active, no one is sharing as it was put by one person. Just wanted to clarify that. Ok, moving on. Enjoy everyone. 

OOOOO

Spoiler warning: Don't think there are any in here this time actually.

Disclaimer: There should just be a blanket disclaimer on the front page of this site saying "We don't own (fill in the blank)" It would just save so much time. Oh well, Naruto is not something I own. OC's are mine though, please don't steal. They're the products of the few brain cells that remain functioning.

OOOOO

A Shinobi's Decision

Chapter Seven: Between the Past and Future

Naruto raised his arms into a cross block just in time as Lee's flying side kick made contact. His forward hand rotated at the wrist and his fingers curled around Lee's ankle. Naruto pulled this opponent toward him and retaliated with a vicious roundhouse kick.

Even off balance as he was, Lee reacted with incredible fineness. One hand raced up to catch Naruto's foot. As gravity began to take hold his opposite hand touched down on the ground. Pushing off his fingers he shot his free leg up towards Naruto's chin. "_Konoha Shoufuu_!"

Naruto release his hold on Lee and leaned back to avoid the kick. Planting both hands on the ground Naruto rotated his hands, turning his body simultaneously to unleash a series of kicks. "_Konoha Rendan_!" The force of Naruto's blows provided enough momentum to flip back and roll out of Lee's strike range before springing to his feet. Naruto took a low guard stance and studied Lee as he took his standard open stance with one hand extended.

Lee raced forward with blinding speed. "_Konoha Daisenpuu_!" He gasped as Naruto exploited the weakness in the technique by diving between the overhead kick and the secondary low sweep kick. He raised his arm to block the reverse mule kick as Naruto landed hand first on the opposite side of his dive.

Naruto concentrated chakra into his feet and pushed back. He grinned as he felt his feet stick to Lee's arms. The premise was the same as the tree climbing technique, but he hadn't really been sure it would work against a living opponent. Pulling himself up quickly, he then released the chakra concentration and pushed off into a back flip.

Lee spun as Naruto went over his head and caught the incoming outer crescent kick as it neared his face. While maintaining his hold on Naruto, Lee kicked forward sending both boys into a spin. Hoping to take advantage of Naruto's momentary disorientation Lee made his move and release two strong forward kicks to the orange-clad back in quick succession.

Naruto felt the first blow and immediately curled forward to avoid the second. Using Lee's grip on his leg as a counter force, Naruto rotated and punched Lee in the chest. For the second time the two boys separated and stared at each other. Naruto grinned as he prepared for the next round.

"Lee!" There was a giant puff of smoke and Gai appeared in the center of the boy's training area. "Lee! Tsunade-sama has mission for us! We must report to her office for the details immediately!"

Lee looked between his friend and his teacher. Naruto didn't look happy about their spar being interrupted, but there was really no choice here. "_Hai_ _Gai-sensei_!"

Gai nodded and began to run off towards the Tower of the Hokage. "Let's go Lee!"

Lee looked over at Naruto once more and bowed. "I look forward to out next match Naruto-kun!"

Naruto watched, somewhat enviously, as Lee took off after his mentor for preparations for their mission. "Stupid orders from Tsunade-_obaa-chan_…" He turned and began to walk toward town. "Being stuck in the village for so long with no missions is driving me crazy." He moved through the streets of Konoha with little attention to the surroundings, but soon found himself at his favorite ramen stand. As he placed his order his mind began to wander.

"Naruto."

The blonde ninja turned to see Kiba and Shino entering the small restaurant and nodded a greeting to them. "What's up?"

"You need to do something about him." Kiba nearly growled this out as he took his seat at the counter and placed his order. "He keeps getting in the way of our training!"

Naruto could only stare in confusion as he began to eat his meal. "What are we talking about again?"

"Your new buddy!" Kiba shouted around a mouthful of ramen. "The one that's always hanging out with you and Sakura and Hinata!"

Naruto paled and nearly spit before remembering that wasting ramen was not an option. With a hasty swallow he turned to the canine ninja. "Daiki! He is not my buddy! Tsunade-_obaa-chan_ just keeps sticking my with him! I'd I've kicked his ass a long time ago if I had the option!"

"Well you still need to do something!" Kiba complained.

"Do something yourself." Naruto resumed eating. "What's he done this time anyway?"

"He has repeatedly interrupted our training sessions by deciding to walk away." Shino replied calmly as he lay down his chop sticks. "Because Hinata must watch him she often has to leave mid practice."

Naruto continued to eat. "So tie him to a tree."

Kiba looked a little chagrinned at this. "We…tried that."

Shino nodded in agreement. "We tried talking to him at first. When that failed we moved on to other means. Each has been unsuccessful. You and Sakura seem to be the only ones that hold any control over him. We require your assistance."

"Well, I'll see what I can do." Naruto sighed and continued to eat. "He really only listens to Sakura-_chan_. Not me."

Kiba looked at the other boy somewhat confused. "But you train with him, don't you?"

Naruto was slower to respond this time. It was true that Daiki had helped him a few times over the past couple of months, but not in the way Kiba suggested. "He's helped me strengthen a few of my problem areas…"

"Like all of them?" Kiba teased. He fell over as Naruto stabbed him in the ribs with his chopstick.

"You're one to talk dog-breath." Naruto muttered as he returned to his meal. "He just tells me what weaknesses he sees, then leaves me to do the rest on my own. We haven't sparred since…" Since Daiki had shown him the blood seals almost two months ago, but Naruto didn't want to share that fact right now. "In a long time." He finally concluded when he realized the others were staring at him.

The all turned as a new figure entered the ramen stand. "Hey guys."

"Hey Choji." Naruto greeted. "Done training with Sakura-_chan_?"

Choji gave them a lopsided smile. "I was sent away by Daiki. Said he had to show Sakura the second part of the jutsu they've been working on."

"Which jutsu?" Naruto wondered aloud as Choji placed his order.

Choji shook his head. "Don't know. But seeing as Sakura went from normal to superpower so quickly, I'd guess it has something to do with her strength enhancing jutsu."

Naruto suddenly felt ill. "That's the two part jutsu she was talking about?" He had sparred with his teammate recently, and greatly underestimated her. It had taken Tsunade-_obaa-chan_ and Sakura both nearly an hour to mend all the broken bones. Daiki had refused to let him live down that defeat since. "Oh, we're doomed."

Kiba looked on confused. "Why is this so bad?"

Naruto lay his head on the table. "That jutsu he taught Sakura-_chan_ already made her stronger than me. She told me that there was a second part that Daiki was going to teach her to increase her power a hundred times over." He groaned and let his arms go slack in defeat under the counter. "If she has that kind of power and catches me using _Oiroke no jutsu_ she'll kill me for real."

Choji smiled and continued to eat. "At least you're not the one that's going to be her punching bag while she figures this thing out."

"I'll send flowers to the funeral." Kiba laughed.

"There is one obvious way to prevent that situation." Shino replied calmly as he reached for his wallet and began to leave.

Naruto turned. "What's that? Stop Daiki from training her?"

Shino shook his head. "No, just stop using perverted techniques that upset her."

Naruto blanched at the advice. He was used to hearing things like that from Sakura-_chan_, even the other instructors he had had over the years. To hear it come from his peer, friend, and fellow guy…It was to much for Naruto to handle. "I'm turning into _Ero-sennin_ aren't I?"

Kiba laughed and also prepared to leave. "Haven't really met the guy so I can't say. Later Naruto. Choji."

Naruto ordered his second bowl and waited for it to be ready. "Choji? Is Sakura-_chan_ really getting that strong?"

Choji lifted his sleeve revealing a deep purple fist-sized bruise on his arm. "I got hit by Jirobo in the same place and it didn't turn that bad that fast."

Naruto looked down at his meal as it arrived. "I see. It's good that she's getting stronger." He began to eat slowly. "I guess I'll just have to work that much harder. Get that much stronger."

Choji paused and looked over at his friend. "Why is that?"

Naruto blinked and looked up. "Well…it's because…you see…remember at the gate? I made a promise to Sakura. If she's stronger than me I can't really make good on it." He laughed nervously.

"And what was this promise to do?" Choji asked in an unusually serious tone.

Naruto stumbled for words now. "It was to well…" He sighed and looked down into his ramen. "I made the promise of a lifetime to her. A promise that I'd bring…" He paused again as the words turned sour in his mouth. "That I'd bring him back to her."

"And by him, you mean Sasuke." Choji replied softly. "Naruto, while it's true I didn't get as far as the rest of you, I went on the same mission. Also, he was you're teammate. So I can only guess at what your investment to the mission was on top of ours." He paused. "Then your promise to Sakura." Choji looked up at Naruto and locked his eyes. "Still, after all this time, you're the only one who can't speak his name aloud."

Naruto swallowed hard. "I've said his name."

"Not around others, at least not that I've heard." Choji looked away. "Even Sakura can see how much this is eating at you."

"Sakura-_chan_?" Naruto startled at the revelation. "What? How?"

"She didn't say it in so many words." Choji admitted. "But when she asked me to train with her, she said she didn't want you carrying the burden alone." His eyes glanced over at the other boy. "You've done some amazing things Naruto, we've all seen it. But even you're not invincible. Pushing yourself so hard will only burn yourself out for when you need that strength the most."

Naruto grit his teeth. "Are you saying I should just give up?!"

Choji shook his head. "No, I'm just saying…" He sighed and looked away. "Shikamaru is so much better at this stuff." He stood and paid for his meal and turned away. He stopped just past the curtain, but didn't turn to face Naruto and instead looked out to the street. "Your promise to get one teammate back is noble, just don't take actions that will sacrifice your other teammate to get there. Living with the mistakes of the past and the dreams of the future leaves no room for the present."

Naruto watched as his friend walked away. "When did he become so brainy?" He looked down into his ramen, staring at his reflection in the broth. Suddenly, he wasn't as hungry anymore. He left his money on the counter and left the stand. As he walked the streets he considered his actions over the past months.

As much as he cared for her, as much as he would do anything for her, Choji was right. He had distanced himself from Sakura. Being around her reminded him of his failure so he pushed her away by running into his training at full throttle so as to have an excuse.

He had not spoken to Kakashi much either in recent days. Though Naruto had had trouble accepting it, he knew his sensei favored Sasuke because of the Sharingan. It could have might have made no difference in the end, but for a time Naruto had blamed Kakashi for the failure to retrieve Sasuke. He had allowed himself to wallow in the thought that if Kakashi hadn't played favorites and trained Naruto as well maybe he would have been strong enough to succeed on that fateful day. Naruto's personality however didn't allow him to keep those thoughts for very long. That type of training would have done him little good, he was experienced enough to admit that now.

His time had been better spent with _Ero-sennin_. Without his training he would not have been able to stand against Sasuke as long as he did at the Battle of the End. Naruto wished that the old pervert would come back and continue that training. He had asked Tsunade-_obaa-chan_ about him only to be repeatedly told that she had heard nothing from Jiraiya. Naruto couldn't help but get the feeling that sometime she was lying to him. So he continued to train to pass the time waiting for his mentor to return.

Which brought him to the his final thoughts on his retreating into his daily exercises, or rather the one person who was seemingly interested in helping him even if it was at the cost of his pride. Naruto was not so much a fool as others believed him to be, he simply hated to admit that he need others help. For so long, he had only himself to rely on. Years of being hated and mistreated with no one to turn to for guidance had made him self-sufficient out of necessity. Daiki had offered to help Naruto in his training on numerous occasions, but Naruto's early experiences with the boy had left him distrustful. So many times he ended up the butt of the joke. To often he was humiliated and pranked. He couldn't even nail down a specific reason, it was deep seated in his gut with no real explanation. There was something about him that Naruto inherently mistrusted and resented.

In that realization, Naruto's world came into focus. "I've become like the villagers." He whispered softly. "I'm pushing everyone away, they way they used to do to me. I've been treating Daiki the way I promised myself I would never treat anyone. After all the work I've put into getting people to notice and acknowledged me, I'm the one alienating everyone else." He looked up and found himself at the third training ground. "This is where I…we became gennin."

The memories of Sasuke insulting him and Sakura berating him. His unflattering and humiliating defeat by Kakashi-sensei. Just as everything had seemed lost and they were headed back to the academy, "Sasuke gave me the remainder of his meal, and Sakura fed me." He smiled at the memory of what Kakashi-sensei had said next. "Those that can't follow the rules are trash. Those who abandon their friends are worse then trash." Naruto looked at the training ground once more and then to the Tower of the Hokage in the distance. "I came very close to being worse than trash." He turned and began to run towards the tower.

OOOOO

Hinata stared at the near dead fish on the table. Daiki had induced a near death state on the little creature, but had not told her the cause. It was something like a test to see if she could not only identify the cause, but correct it as well. She glanced over at Daiki as he instructed Sakura in one of her lessons in seal crafting.

"Eye's on your patient Hinata-san." Daiki called back without turning his head. "You've got about eight minutes left before the damage becomes irreversible."

"_Hai_!" Hinata looked back down at the trout in her care. Her fingers ran along the back bone of the fish. "No abnormalities to the spine or dorsal nerve cord." She whispered. She cupped some water from the bowl beside her and wet the gills. "Air exchange seems normal." Her hand rested against the head. "No brain damage detected." For a moment she lamented her luck. Nerve damage was her be best area, her proficiency with chakra manipulation from years of _jyuuken_ training made her more than able to detect and repair nerve tissue with ease. Something Daiki likely knew already and as such had designed a test revolving around something else entirely. Mentally shaking the doubt from her mind she continued on. "Heart beat erratic due to stress, but no other damage detected. Only a few options left, blood, GI tract, and musculature." Her left hand glowed with green chakra as she moved to a stronger diagnosis jutsu. It took some time but she finally found the cause. "A seal around the stomach, converting nutrients into a high grade poison that's leaching into the blood." She grit her teeth and began to form a series of half-seals with her free hand. Purple chakra formed around her right hand as she began to deconstruct the seal piece by piece. She glanced up for a moment, worried how much time was left. She gasped as she realized that she had less then two minutes. She concentrated on the seal and began to work faster.

Sakura saw the change in both Hinata and Daiki at once. Sweat was visible on Hinata's brow as she worked frantically. Daiki's response was subtle, so much so that he continued to teach Sakura even as his attention was on Hinata's work, but he was clearly unhappy. Whatever Hinata was doing, it wasn't good. She moved to go to her fellow apprentice's aid, but Daiki carefully stepped into her way.

"Do you see the symbol here Sakura-sama?" Daiki continued to point to the diagram. "By combining these two characters in close succession you are able to slow the metabolic processing of bio-neural toxins, say snake venom for example." He sighed as the ruse was proven useless as he heard a popping noise followed quickly by a startled gasp from Hinata. He turned around and leaned against the table. "What did you do wrong?"

Hinata wiped her face of the fish scales that had landed on her as she looked down into the hundred yen coin sized hole in the side of her fish. "I released the barrier of the west before removing the seven feet from the east."

"And that caused?" Daiki continued.

"The back flow of chakra caused a temporary reversal of blood flow resulting in an immediate and violent aneurysm." Hinata replied softly.

"If you can so clearly identify the error, what caused it to be made?" Daiki asked softly.

"I was careless." Hinata looked down at the fish sadly. "I'll do better next time."

"Next time will not help that patient."

Hinata flinched. Daiki's words were calm and even, containing no malice, but the underlying message still cut deeply. "I'm sorry."

Daiki waved his hand. "Stop it. What have I told you?"

Hinata looked down at the ground. "Don't be sorry. Make mistakes. Learn from them."

Daiki nodded. "Why were you careless?"

"You said I eight minutes." Hinata continued to stare at the ground, unable to make eye contact with her teacher. "It took me nearly six minutes to diagnose the illness, leaving only two to treat and correct before becoming fatal."

"And how much time was left when the patient died?"

"One minute fifteen seconds." Hinata felt her cheeks become hot with embarrassment.

"Do you remember the cardinal rule?" Daiki asked.

"Do not rush." Hinata replied softly. "Med-nins who rush kill those they are meant to save."

Daiki nodded and walked over to the near shaking girl. He sighed and placed a hand heavily on her head. "I don't know why you have this need to be perfect."

Hinata gasped and straightened.

"But you must learn to see your skills for what they are and not what others tell you they should be." Daiki removed his hand and began to walk towards the door. "Luckily, all trout-san had in his future was to be cooked up and served as dinner." He opened the door. "I'm going to get the next patient. Learn from your mistakes Hinata-san, endeavor not to repeat them."

Sakura watched as her cousin left the room before turning her attention to the blue-haired girl. Sakura has learned early that Hinata did not take criticism well. The first few days that they had trained together, the Hyuuga heiress had been all thumbs. She had been so nervous she could barely control her chakra flow, let alone work on actual medical techniques. The first time that Daiki had been stern with her, Sakura had had to chase Hinata to the front door of the Tower of the Hokage to try and convince her to come back to the practice room. It seemed as though she was going to need to perform damage control yet again. "He makes his tests pretty hard, don't feel too bad about the results. That's why we practice."

"He's very strict." Hinata replied as she continued to look at the now dead fish. "But he's like that because he must be."

Sakura blinked. "Yeah, I guess, but he didn't need to be quite that harsh."

Hinata shook her head. "I disagree." She paused as she saw the confused look on her newest friend's face. "As med-nin we will be responsible for the lives of others." She lifted the practice tray with her deceased "patient" and began to clean the remains away to the refuse bin. "While I would prefer not to fail at all, I would rather he be strict over this practice test so that I do not make a mistake on someone who actually needs my help." She rinsed the tray in the sink and began to prepare for her next exam. "Also, he makes you find your own mistakes."

Sakura leaned back against the table as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Yeah, he does have a way of rubbing your nose in it when you mess up." She tensed as she realized what she said. Fearing her partner would take it to much as an insult she moved quickly to clarify. "I mean, he's made me run in circle trying to find what I did wrong rather than simply tell me so I know what to look for."

"I think…that's better." Hinata replied softly as she waited for their instructor to return. "At least, he doesn't just tell you that you were wrong. He makes you learn for yourself rather than give away the answer that you might later forget." She looked down at the ground. "He's never once yelled at me. He's scolded me for my carelessness, but he's never yelled." Her voice dropped even more. "Even when he's done that, he's never made me feel like a failure."

Sakura let her own eyes drop to the floor. When she was a little girl, Sakura used to image what it would have been like to grow up in a prestigious house like the Hyuuga or the Uchiha Clans. Then she'd seen the animosity between the Main and Branch Houses at the Chunnin Exams. Sakura still didn't understand everything. As much as she hated to say it, Naruto probably knew more than she did right now. She knew enough however that the life hidden from her by the pure white granite walls were hardly the life of a princess she had imagined.

She could only wonder about what or even who Hinata was taking about now. While it was true that they had grown closer while studying together over the past few months, Sakura didn't feel that she knew Hinata well enough to pry further. She was saved from the deafening silence as loud shouts and crashes came from somewhere below. She looked over at Hinata and saw the nervous flush on her face. Sakura grimaced. "Why now?" She grumbled mentally. "Hinata's finally gotten her cool back. Why'd he have to show up now?"

"_Ahou_!" Daiki yelled as something crashed down at the opposite end of the hallway.

"Put down that stupid fish!" Yelled Naruto as a second thud was heard a moment later. "I need you to come help me train!"

"Go away!" Retorted Daiki. "I've got no time to waste on you right now _ahou_!"

There was an indignant sounding cry from Naruto in response to this. "You're the one who said you'd help me train! You can't take that back now!"

"Take what back?" Daiki yelled defensively. "I never promised you any thing of the sort!" The sound of more roughhousing followed and suddenly the door to the practice room burst open with Naruto and Daiki tumbling in locked in seeming mortal combat.

Sakura grimaced as she watch Daiki head but Naruto in attempt to gain some space all the while trying not to lose his grip on the large salmon that he was holding.

Hinata simply stared wide-eyed, unsure of what, if anything she should do.

Naruto rubbed his brow once and launched into a diving tackle taking Daiki to the floor. "What do you mean you never promised me anything?" He grabbed the boy's shirt and pinned him to the floor. "You said you'd help me get stronger!"

"Naruto!"

The blonde looked up, realizing for the first time the change of venue and the two girls now staring at him. "Oh! Hi Sakura-_cha…_"

Daiki cut the boy short by utilizing the weapon that was most readily available to him, the large fish in his hand. With a mighty swing he smacked Naruto in the face with the unfortunate water dwelling creature sending the blonde back across the room. Flipping to his feet, Daiki placed the confused fish into the waiting tank before turning back to his opponent. "Now…" He cracked his knuckles as Naruto stood picking fish scales from his teeth. "Let's try this again now that my hands are free."

"Enough!" Demanded the Hokage as she stepped into the practice room. She glared at all the members present. "What the hell is going on in here? And why does my Tower look like the Fourth Great Shinobi War was started in it?"

Hinata simply stood stone still, aside from the occasionally shiver. She had heard about the _Godaime's_ temper, but had never seen it herself.

Sakura pinched her brow as she tried to think of an answer. Unfortunately, the chance was taken from her as the boy's responded.

Daiki and Naruto both pointed at the other. "He started it!"

Tsunade blinked in confusion a moment before her anger began to build again. "The academy students don't even use that as an excuse!"

"We were doing just fine with out practice until _ahou_ showed up!" Daiki huffed in irritation. "It's his fault."

Naruto jumped up and down furious. "It is not! I came to talk to him and he kicked me in the face!"

"I did not kick you in the face!" Daiki shot back. "I just forcefully pushed your face out of my way with my foot cause I had the fish in my hands."

"Like I said!" Naruto seethed. "You kicked me in face!" He was struck again, this time by a fist.

Sakura glared down at the boy as he crumpled to the ground. She then moved on and clobbered Daiki into the floor. "Honestly, why are boys such idiots?"

Tsunade grinned, she knew there was more than just raw potential that had made her take Sakura as her apprentice. "If we knew the answer to that question, we'd have fixed it a long time ago."

Hinata moved as quickly and discreetly as she could to Naruto's side. "N-naruto-_kun_? A-are you o-ok?"

Naruto touched he face gingerly, please to find it still largely intact. "Sakura-_chan_ must not have used that ogre strength of hers…" He whispered softly.

"What was that Naruto?" Sakura looked over, evil glinting in her eyes.

"Nothing!" Naruto squeaked.

Tsunade turned away. "Well you seem to have things in control Sakura. I'll leave them to you."

Daiki picked himself up slightly and sat on the floor. He watched as Naruto and Hinata talked quietly. If he pushed, he could listen in without much trouble, but he wasn't really interested in what they were say so much as what they were doing. Naruto kept playing with his lip, which was rapidly swelling from Sakura's strike. A moment later he saw the familiar green chakra envelop Hinata's hands and she extended her reach to touch the blonde's face. A small smirk stretched over his face as Daiki rubbed his chin in thought. "Got you." He whispered softly.

The pink haired gennin was watching her cousin while the impromptu healing session took place. Sakura couldn't help but get a little nervous as Daiki smiled. She had seen this smile a few times now, and while nothing bad had ever happened, it usually meant Daiki was scheming something. Before she could try to find out what he was up to he was back on his feet and moving around the room.

"Alright, alright!" Daiki raised his voice a little as he began to prepare a new work station. "Enough with the kissy-face you two! We have work to get done!" He laughed outright as Hinata and Naruto jumped away from each other after his comment. "Yeah, this will work nicely." He murmured to himself. He motioned Naruto over to the new workstation. "Your chakra control sucks, so you get the dummy fish." He placed a rubber doll into the tray. "Your goal is to stimulate the chakra flow with out causing guppy-san to explode."

Naruto stared at the small toy. "You're kidding…"

"Do I look like I'm kidding?" Daiki asked.

"But this is…" Naruto shook his head. "I didn't come to get trained in medical jutsu!"

Daiki looked at his newest student with an even gaze. "Oh? Considering that your predecessor is an expert med-nin I should think a Hokage should know at least some medical techniques to serve his people."

In her mind, Sakura uttered three small words. "Hook. Line. Sinker."

Naruto turned back to the toy fish in the tray. "Well, when you put it like that." He rolled up his sleeves. "_Yosh_!"

Daiki grinned at how easy that was as he turned away and moved to Hinata's workstation. "As I don't care to repeat lessons over and over, Sakura-sama and Hinata-san will be acting as your Sempai. You are to listen to them the same as you would me. Whoever I am not working with will be responsible for getting this _ahou_ up to par. It will also serve as a nice review so you two don't get complacent in your own training.

Hinata paled visibly at this newest revelation. She barely was able to complete her own work. Yet now she was being expected to help train Naruto? "I…I…can't do this." The thought ran through her head like lightning though water. Quick, direct, and destructively paralyzing.

"Because you are both excellent students," Daiki continued as he prepared the salmon for the next exam. "I expect you both to work to your full potential and give _ahou_ there a couple of great examples to follow." He finished "injuring" the fish and placed it into the practice tray. "Sakura-_sama_ I would like you to continue working on the metabolic seals we were discussing before." He nodded to Hinata. "You have new patient. Let's see what you've learned."

Hinata stared at the fish as she moved to her table. She swallowed hard and looked over at Naruto. He was off in his own little world, trying to move chakra though the toy fish. She smiled as she watched him work. "I have to work hard too." She whispered.

Unbeknownst to Hinata, Daiki had heard her whisper. He smiled as green chakra radiated out of palms and she moved directly to the level two diagnostic. "Her chakra control is the best it's been all month. Confidence is up, sureness and steady hand much better." He watched her move through a series of one handed half seals as he mentally assessed her. "Faster response time following diagnosis." He nodded almost imperceptibly and shifted his attention to the struggling Naruto. The motivation was simple and to point, but it worked.

Hinata removed her hands and the chakra faded slowly. "I've completed the procedure." She cupped some water into her hands and released it over the animal's gills.

Daiki looked over the girl's work carefully. He had made this test much harder than the last, and she had passed it faster and with greater proficiency than any of her previous attempts. He bowed his head slightly to young girl. "Excellent work Hinata-_san_. We'll move to the next lesson tomorrow." He turned and moved towards Sakura's table. "In the mean time, please see if you can assist _ahou_ over there before he blows up poor guppy-_san_." He resisted smiling as he caught the bright pink flush on her cheeks from the corner of his eye. Daiki reached out and corrected one of the characters in Sakura's seal as he continued to watch Hinata and Naruto work together. He frowned slightly before he shook his head.

Sakura caught the movement and looked up from her work. "What? Did I do something wrong?"

"No." Daiki shook his head. "You're doing just fine." He looked away from the other table and down at Sakura's project. Even if it had gotten results, he wasn't particularly proud of how he'd gotten to them. Manipulating both Naruto and Hinata to work harder did not sit well with him. "You're doing just fine Sakura-_sama_. I'm just wondering what _Sensei_ would think of me right now." He felt his lips tighten as he realized what he just admitted and pressed on before Sakura could follow up. "Now then, this seal here…"

OOOOO

Rider: Well, what's everyone think? Good? Bad? Otherwise? If you have a moment please leave a little something to let me know. Thanks again for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.  
Wraiths: I though you said there was supposed to be some…  
Rider: (clamps hand over Wraith's mouth) Next time, or maybe the chapter after that.  
Star: When's everyone's favorite emo showing up again?  
Rider: Would you two be quiet!? That's it! We're done here! Nothing more to see!  
Wraiths: Later people.  
Star: Bye everyone!  
Rider: 'Till the next, live well all. (sighs and glares at his partners) What part of don't say anything did you not understand?


	8. Leaves of the Great Tree

Rider: Hi there everybody.

Star: Hi Dr. Nick! Oh wait, wrong show.

Rider: (shakes head) Yeah…Anyway, thanks for the review, and other msgs that you guys have sent me. Glad to hear that most are still enjoying the story. I have some things I want to say about this chapter, but I'm going to save that until the end cause I don't want to taint it before you have a chance to read.

Wraiths: So shut up and let us read!

Rider: Who put IcyHot in your under-roos? Meh, anyway, enjoy everyone.

OOOOO

Spoiler warning: Nope, nothing here this time.

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Shounen Jump, and a couple other companies I forget at the moment. I do not own Naruto in any way, shape, or form. I have about three dollars in my wallet and less in the bank cause I'm a poor college student. Keep that in mind if you intend to sue.

OOOOO

A Shinobi's Decision

Chapter Eight: Leaves of the Great Tree

She moved silently through the hallways of her home. What small sounds she did make were easily over taken by the heavy rainfall that pattered against the roof. Even without the cloud cover, it was early enough in the morning that the sun had not yet risen making her presence even harder to detect in the darkness. If someone really wanted to find her though no amount of darkness or noisy rain could hide her for long. She had only to pass a mirror in the hallway to be reminded of who she was and what she shared with ever other member of her family.

As Hinata slowly made her way towards the front gate of the Hyuuga compound she passed the main courtyard. The barely detectable presence caused her to pause. The chakra signature was unlike any she had felt, fading in and out of existence like a spirit in the mist. She swallowed hard, knowing that she needed to get off of the compound grounds, but curious as to what would cause this strange reaction.

"_Byakugan_." She whispered lightly. In a moment's time her vision enhanced and the rain became her ally yet again on this dreary morning. The cold rain water suppressed what she had come to know as ambient chakra patterns, chakra given off by nearly all living organisms be it plant, animal, or seemingly the earth itself. She doubted that with out the rain to aid her she would have been able to detect the faint chakra coils that danced through the rain. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to follow the coil's movements, but they would vanish just as she seemed to get a lock on them only to reappear across the courtyard where they would flare and fade once again. Even so, with only a few passing glances she was able to discern a few things about this figure.

The first thing that she noticed was that it was a male figure, subtle differences in the chakra coils were present that mark him as such. Her initial conclusion was that it was her cousin Neji developing some new application of _jyuuken_, but she was forced to dismiss that notion a moment later. The coils twisted and split at unnatural junctions. Pathways were seemingly stuck in a permanent state of hypertrophy. It was as though the _tenketsu_ had been force to full open positions and never returned to normal, leaving them wide open and literally shaking as chakra moved through at dangerous speeds. This lead her to believe that another member of her clan was using the courtyard for training purposes. Surely no one would willingly put themselves under that kind of chakra stress with out perfect chakra control lest they risk death. The final element however eliminated this possibility.

There on his chest, just adjacent to the heart's coils, lay a large mass of chakra. It seemed to be at once part of the coil system, yet separated from it entirely at the same instant. Hinata puzzled over how such a massive amount of raw chakra could be so close to the man's heart without being put to use or killing him. Everything she had ever been taught said those were the only two options that such a mass could be used for. She shifted back deeper into the shadows as the figure began to move towards the small balcony. Deactivating her _Byakugan_ to avoid detection she waited until the man stepped from the rain in into her normal vision range. She held her breath as Daiki emerged from the dark, wet, early morning.

She stared in confusion, and with more than a slight blush, as he shook the water from his body, much like a dog, whipping moisture everywhere. When he seemed to be dry enough he gather his clothing from the top of the door and slowly put on his pants and shirt.

"Are you sure?" Daiki asked.

Hinata tensed, afraid she had been discovered.

Daiki shook his head. "I don't buy that. There has to be something more that can be done."

Hinata continued to watch Daiki carefully from the shadows. She had known that her teacher, her friend, was…unique, but she had never heard him talk to himself before.

Daiki sat on the ground in a huff and pulled kunai from his holster. He dangled it over his arm letting it sway lightly. "We're still not even sure that really is the case."

Hinata watched in shock as Daiki began to cut into his arm with the razor sharp blade.

Daiki continued to make incisions into his arm, going deeper each time. "That may not mean anything!" He flipped the kunai to his other hand and began to cut the other arm now. "Just because the seal was there doesn't mean that _ah_…"

"Please stop that!" Hinata finally cried out as she rushed toward the boy. She was so concern for his health that she failed to notice Daiki's panicked reaction as he sprung into a defensive crouch with the kunai at the ready. "Please, stop hurting yourself."

"Damn it Hinata-_san_!" Daiki relaxed a moment later and roughly shoved the kunai into his holster. "You almost ended up a human pin cushion!"

Hinata reached for his bleeding forearms. "We have to stop the bleeding. Hold out your arms so I can heal them."

Daiki sat back and scraped away the layer of blood revealing smooth skin underneath with no trace of any wound. "I'm fine."

Hinata stared. "But how?"

"A new jutsu I've been working on for some time now. That's all you need to know." Daiki's eyes darted back so quickly that even the young Hyuuga girl's eyes couldn't detect it. "You should get going."

Hinata visibly jumped as Daiki spoke. Her chest became tight as panic took hold. "Wh-what do you mean?"

Daiki continued to let his sense extend out around him. "You're meeting your team for additional training today correct? That's why you're up so early. You should go if you don't want to be late."

Hinata nodded once, not wishing to tell Daiki that that wasn't the entire truth. "Yes, you're right." She stood and began to stand.

"Hinata-san." Daiki motioned to the wall at the eastern boarder. "The road less traveled. Twenty seconds."

Hinata stared a moment, but nodded.

Daiki watched as Hinata sprinted across the compound, gracefully leapt the wall and vanished into the early morning. He again took up his kunai and began to cut himself as Neji entered the small deck area.

"Daiki." The older Hyuuga nodded once in greeting. "I didn't expect to find you here so early." Neji noted with some discomfort that the kunai was cutting almost to the bone. "Are you the only person here right now?"

Daiki pulled the weapon from his bruised and bleeding flesh, watching as the wound began to heal slowly of it's own volition. "Just been me, myself, and I all morning."

OOOOO

Sakura entered the Tower of the Hokage and shook her umbrella lightly to try and dry it off. "_Ohaiyo_!" She called up the stairs knowing that at this early hour there would be few, if any, other people to disturb. Placing her umbrella in the coat closet Sakura made her way up stairs towards her teacher's office. "_Tsunade-shishou_?" Carefully opening the door she moved inside. She giggled lightly at the scene before her. "_Shishou_?"

Tsunade bolted up upright and looked around confused. "Sakura? What time is it?"

Sakura continued to laugh and motioned towards her forehead. "It's a little before eight."

Tsunade finally caught on to her apprentice's hints and removed the piece of paper that was stuck to her face and waving about in the air. "Eight?" She let her body slump back in her chair. "Remind me to kill Naruto and Jiraiya for talking me into taking this job."

Sakura laughed. "I'll go get you some coffee." Leaving the office, she moved through the empty hallways of the tower toward the small kitchen. She stopped as she entered the little room and found someone she had not expected to see this early. Moving quietly Sakura rounded the table and rested the back of her hand against the mug of green tea. As she suspected, it had long since gone cold. Circling a bit further Sakura sat beside the other girl to gain a view of her sleeping face.

Tear streaks cutting down the Hinata's pale skin gave some indication of why she was here, but not enough. Sakura reached out and took the girl's shoulder gently before rousing her from her sleep. "Hinata-_chan_?" As the girl woke, Sakura could see the red markings on Hinata's face from where the skin had been pressed against her arm for a long period of time. "What are you doing here so early?"

Hinata looked around as if confused by her surroundings a moment. "I…I just thought that…I should come get some extra practice before we had our lesson with Daiki-_san_ later."

Sakura could see through the lie instantly. Hinata more than anyone else had unrestricted access to Daiki on the Hyuuga estate. If she wanted to practice, she could have easily done so there. "I see. Is he here already?"

Hinata shook her head. "I…I think he was going to train with Naruto-_kun_ today first."

Something was very wrong. Hinata was trying too hard to seem like everything was alright. Unfortunately, Hinata wasn't someone you could go at straight on. "Good, then we can practice together before he arrives." She stood and made her way to the cabinet and began to prepare Tsunade's coffee. "Why don't you head up to the practice room. I'll meet you up there after I bring this to _Shishou_."

Hinata nodded slightly. "_H-hai_."

A few minutes after Hinata left Sakura followed suit and returned to the Hokage's office. "_Shishou_? Do you have any idea why Hinata might be here so early?"

Tsunade looked up from her paperwork and took the drink offered to her. "I didn't even know she was here yet." She sipped her drink, relishing the strong flavor. "She's usually quite proper about stopping in to say good morning before she heads upstairs."

Sakura rubbed her chin in thought. "Well, I'm sure it's nothing." She turned and began to leave the room, but stopped when she felt a familiar pulse of chakra.

Tsunade watched as her apprentice crouched to begin inspecting the door. "What is it?"

Sakura frowned and her hands flashed quickly through the seals for her diagnostic jutsu. Running her hands over the door she found the source of the chakra pulse a moment later. Marking the location, she moved to a different set of hand seals to reveal the marking to the naked eye.

Tsunade ground her teeth as the small seal with the charter for "fly" in the center became visible. He mind flashed back for a moment to when Daiki had kicked the door after the emergency meeting. "That little…"

"An eaves dropping technique." Sakura murmured softly. She didn't need to ask who had placed this seal, that she already knew. "Why would he do this though?"

Tsunade wanted to know that as well. Countless pieces of information had been exchanged in her office, many highly sensitive. Gathering chakra into her fingers she pressed against the seal. "_Kai_." Watching as the seal dissolved into the ether, she turned to her student. "I'll deal with it later. Right now I want you to keep an eye on Hinata. Stay with her today."

Sakura looked up into the serious expression on her leader's face. "_Hai_." She wasn't sure what was going on, but the area was far more tense now. She moved quickly to the upper level of the tower in search of her friend. "Hinata-_chan_? Sorry to keep you…" She opened the door to the empty practice room. "Waiting?" It took only a moment to look at the open window and know what had happened to the young Hyuuga. "Damn it." Opening the window further Sakura leapt out into the rain and began to scan the roof tops. Hinata was already long gone however. With a frustrated sigh, Sakura began to race the roof tops while searching for her friend.

OOOOO

Naruto coughed violently as he pulled his face from the mud. "Damn it!" He sprung to his feet and charged at Daiki yet again. He lashed out with his right fist only to watch Daiki slide beneath his guard and catch him at the elbow before flipping through the air and landing hard on his back.

Daiki released Naruto's arm and brushed his rain heavy hair from his eyes. "What the hell was that? Are you even thinking before you attack?"

Naruto sat up and glared at the other boy. "Shut up!"

Daiki sighed. "I'll take that as a no." He grimaced a moment and brought his hand to his ear. He looked in the general direction of the Tower of the Hokage. "Lasted longer then I thought it would." Luckily, his companion seemed to miss this little self-exchange.

"It's your fault!" Naruto rose to his feet, completely missing Daiki's actions . "You haven't taught me a single thing since we came out here a week ago!"

Daiki shook his head as though disappointed. "Set up. Let's go again." He watched as Naruto moved into a new stance. "Naruto? Have you done anything other than Taijutsu since I showed you those seals?"

Naruto shook his head. "I haven't had anybody to develop new jutsus with so I've just been training with Fuzzy-brows."

Daiki rubbed at his temples. "Why do I bother? _Megami-sama_, why do I bother?" He shook his head again. "Ok, you need to come at me with everything you've got. Understand?"

Naruto balked slightly at the idea. Everything he had included the fox. Strong as Daiki was, Naruto didn't think that was such a great idea. "Everything?"

Daiki nodded. "Everything in your arsenal. Taijutsu, genjutsu, well, you're horrible at genjutsu so never mind that, ninjutsu. Everything."

Naruto nodded slightly. "Ok." He dropped into his low guard stance that he'd adopted from his fight's with Lee. "But you have to not hold back either."

Daiki rolled his eyes. "Whatever _ahou_." He moved to a position that was a combination of a middle stance and a high stance. "Whenever you're ready."

Pumping chakra into his legs Naruto exploded off the ground toward the other boy to lead off with a powerful jab and reverse punch combo.

Daiki easily avoided his attacks with a quick shuffle step and rotated into Naruto with a strong back thrust elbow to the ribs. As Naruto stumbled back, Daiki's leg extended to strike him twice, once in the chest and then again on the chin.

Naruto grit his teeth. He had gotten used to pain from training with Lee, and Daiki didn't seem to be as physically strong as the taijutsu expert, but the attacks still hurt. His hand's came up into the familiar cross shaped seal as chakra began to flow. "_Kage bunshin no jutsu_!"

Daiki ducked as the first clone attacked from behind with a flying roundhouse and pulled a kunai from his holster. He scraped the blade along the clone's back, reducing it to smoke. He resumed his ready stance and waited.

Naruto remembered from last time that simply throwing clones at his opponent was needless waste of chakra. But these clones were, like their creator, far stronger than they had been last time. With a quick mental command the clones began to move towards the pink haired boy.

Daiki moved with a fluid grace that showed off a fair measure of his skill. His movements took out two, three, even four clones at a time with seemingly no effort. Then he felt the change. The clones grabbed at his wrists and ankles. Another came up and locked his shoulders in an underarm hold from behind. Others grabbed his waist and let themselves fall, allowing their simulated mass and gravity to weigh him down. Daiki turned his head and he saw why the clones were attempting to immobilize him. He frowned and twisted his wrist, impaling one of the clones in the neck with his kunai before letting it fall away.

Naruto watched as Daiki struggled against the army of clones to regain his freedom. Behind him he felt the familiar swirl of chakra as another clone formed his signature attack. Naruto grinned as the chakra sphere took full form. Today he'd prove to Daiki that he was more than just an _ahou_. Again forcing chakra to his legs, Naruto dashed forward. "_Rasengan_!" He felt his stomach fall out from under him as he saw Daiki smile and state three little words.

"_Kawarimi no jutsu_."

Naruto cursed his luck as Daiki vanished and a simple kunai took his place. The _Rasengan_ hit and tore the small blade to bits. However, there was still more than enough power remaining in the chakra sphere that it did not dissipate as a result. Naruto glanced to the left and saw Daiki crouched on the ground. Naruto grinned. The kunai hadn't been that far away when Daiki used the replacement technique, at this range he wouldn't be able to dodge in time. Naruto pulled back and charged again. "_Rasengan_!" He stretched out his arm, and the unthinkable happened. Never, in all his times using this technique, had this happened.

Daiki sidestepped, and moved in towards the attack. The _Rasengan_ passed harmlessly by his side and caught Naruto at the elbow.

Naruto felt an intense pressure on his arm as he was lifted into the air and flipped over Daiki's shoulder and slammed into the ground. Though the ground was soft with mud, the sudden pain that shot through Naruto's head caused his concentration to waiver and the clones vanished.

Daiki stared at the chakra ball as it began to pulse with instability. "Oh shi…"

The boys would find out later that the shockwaves that occurred as a result of the explosion were recorded as earth tremors by a civilian team of earthquake researchers in Konoha at the time.

Daiki sat against the tree where he landed. Whether he was unable to move or simply chose not too was not immediately clear. "Wow…"

Naruto was still lying at the center of the massive crater he had created. "That's never happened before." He slowly rose to his feet and began to climb out of the large hole he had dug himself. After a moment he found Daiki and jogged over to his side. He was more than a little nervous as he heard Daiki laughing slightly.

The boy on the ground looked up. "I guess those seals have done you some good after all." Daiki shook his head when he was the confused look on Naruto's face.

"So? Did I pass?" Naruto waited as Daiki stood and wiped the mud from his face. "Well?"

"Well what?" Daiki asked annoyed.

"You going to teach me anything new or not?" Naruto demanded angrily. "That's what happened last time. We fought, you said I was ready, and you taught me the weight seals."

Daiki shook his head. "I see that even with training for a week with Hinata-_san_, you still don't get it."

Naruto blinked. "Huh?"

Daiki looked up into the clouded sky. "What did you do wrong?"

"Nothing!" Naruto defended hastily. "You just caught me off guard!"

Daiki pounded Naruto over the head. "You want to learn, you have to think! So start using your brain for something other than keeping the wind from blowing through your ears!" He rubbed his temples as Naruto again looked confused. "Ok, since it's your first time using your brain apparently, I'll walk you through this one time. What did you do first?"

"I focused chakra to my legs and tried a two punch combo." Naruto crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Daiki shook his head. "Even before that."

Naruto thought a moment. "I launched a wild punch at you."

"And what happened?"

"Yes, we both know how well that turned out!" Naruto fumed. "You don't have to be such a…" He was cut short as Daiki hit him over the head again.

Daiki was more forceful this time. "What. Happened?"

Naruto pouted slightly at being hit, but the curt, punctuated tone told him he should answer this. "You closed the gap between us, elbow locked me, and took me down."

There was a small nod from Daiki. "And your final attack?"

Naruto sighed, Daiki never let him forget a defeat. "I used the _Rasengan_."

"And?"

Naruto threw his hands into the air. "And you did the exact same thing to beat me! Ok?!"

"No." Daiki pressed on. "And?"

Naruto turned and began to pace. "What do you want me to say? I don't know what the hell I did wrong! You beat me! You win! What?"

Daiki sighed and rubbed his temples. "I can't believe I actually got out of bed this morning to deal with this crap." He stood straight and beckoned Naruto toward him. "Attack me."

Naruto shook his head. "Why?"

"Just do it _ahou_." Daiki side stepped and caught Naruto's arm as he threw a half-hearted punch. "Do you see?"

Naruto shook his head. "Not really."

Releasing the boy Daiki looked away. "Aside from the glowing ball of death by chakra, what's the difference between your first and your last attack?"

"It's a lot more powerful." Naruto replied quickly, but by the look on Daiki's face it wasn't the right answer. He thought a moment and something finally came to him. "Nothing. There's nothing different. The execution and the contact method are exactly the same." He grinned as Daiki finally nodded.

"So?"

Naruto's face fell slightly. "What?" He looked at Daiki, but it was readily apparent that he would not receive any answer. "Ok, if you're going to teach me something let's do it already otherwise we're just wasting time standing in the rain."

Daiki sighed for the millionth time this morning, not bothering to hide the disappointment in his actions. "You still don't get it." He looked up into the sky, rainwater forming small streams as it ran down his face. "Anyone can teach anybody anything." He looked down at Naruto again. "But only those who try and think will learn something."

Naruto scratched his head. "I don't get it."

"Naruto! Daiki!" The boys turned as Sakura came bounding out of the trees and landed beside them. "Have you seen Hinata today?"

Naruto shook his head. "We've been out here since early this morning."

Sakura turned to her cousin, and noticed at once that he had tensed up. "Daiki?"

"Why do you want to know?" Daiki asked calmly.

"You're hiding something." Sakura immediately knew something was wrong. Hinata's actions. Tsunade's orders. Daiki's seal in the office. "Something bad is happening. Hinata's in trouble, isn't she?"

Daiki nodded once.

"Then we have to help her." Naruto insisted. "Where was she last?"

"The Tower." Sakura looked over at her cousin. "If you know something you need to tell us."

"The Tower? Stupid girl…" Daiki shook his head. "I gave her a perfectly good…" He stopped as he saw the others were looking at him confused. "It doesn't matter. Naruto, see if you can find the mutt and bug-boy. They'll know where Hinata-_san_ likes to hang out. Sakura-_sama_ and I will continue to search for her the old fashioned way."

Naruto nodded and took to the trees. He remembered from the days at the academy that neither of Hinata's teammates were particularly fond of rain, something about wet dog smell and bugs being cold blooded. Kiba's house was closer, Naruto would head there first.

The rain made the trip a bit more treacherous and he nearly lost his footing on slippery tree branches a couple of times, but he still made his way to the Inuzuka compound fairly quickly. He landed with a squish into the mud in the kennel yard and raced to the door before pounding on it. "Kiba! Open up!" He stepped back slightly as an older woman opened the door. "Hana-_nee-chan_? Is Kiba around?"

The older of the Inuzuka siblings shook her head. "He went out to train with his team this morning."

"Damn it." Naruto muttered. "Do you know where?"

Hana nodded. "Training ground fifteen I believe."

Naruto's nose wrinkled at the location. He shook the thought from his head smiled at his benefactor. "Thanks!" Naruto turned and again bounded into the trees. Kurenai-sensei must have insisted Naruto mused as he envisioned Kiba in the rain. At least now he didn't have to bother tracking down Shino as well, they'd both be in the same place. Before long he landed into the ever unpleasant swamp known as training ground fifteen. About the only benefit of the rain in this place was that it killed off most of the smell. Kakashi-sensei had made them train here a few times in the summer and Naruto swore his nose didn't work right for a week.

"Kiba! Shino! Kurenai-sensei!" Naruto cupped his hands around his mouth as he called out to team eight, but as he looked around he seemed to get no response. Deciding to try again he took in a deep breath. "Kiba! Shino! Kurenai-sensei! If you can hear me please answer! I'm trying to find Hinata! It's important!" He waited a moment longer but saw no one coming. "Damn it! I don't have time for this!" Bringing his hands into his favorite seal he decided ed to make his own search party. "_Tajyuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!" He looked around at the massive amount of clones that were summoned. "Everyone to my right! Go search the city for Hinata! Everyone to my left! Find Team Eight!" With the orders given, Naruto himself lead the charge into the swamp.

As he moved through the swamp he found it harder and harder to concentrate. Attributing it to the noxious vapors of the training area he slapped himself roughly to wake up again. The farther he progressed the harder it was to maintain his focus. He felt as though something was crawling beneath his skin, pulling at all of his senses just enough to hamper him without stopping him completely. Leaping to a higher branch of a partially submerged tree he began to survey the area. "Kiba!" He turned in a new direction. "Shino! Kurenai-_sen_…" He began to turn around again and came face to face with a set of enormous fangs. "Gyahh!" Losing his balance from the sudden start Naruto began to fall backwards off the branch. He stopped suddenly as the great muzzle gripped his jacket gently to pull him back up.

"Naruto?" Kiba looked down from where he rode atop the giant white dog. "What are you doing out here?"

Naruto pet the canine snout gently. "You scared the _kuso_ out of me Akamaru." He shook his head as the dog yipped at him. "Kiba, is Hinata out here with you guys?"

The _inu-nin_ shook his head. "No, she never showed up. Why?"

"Sakura-_chan_ thinks she may be in trouble." Naruto quickly explained. "Any ideas where she may have gone?"

"A couple." Kiba nodded. "Hang on. Akamaru!" He waited as the dog gave a single bark in response before tipping back his own head.

Naruto covered his ears as both master and pet let an eardrum shattering howl into the sky. "Next time, let me move out of the way first."

Kiba grinned. "_Suman_." He turned as moments later Shino and Kurenai appeared at their side. He quickly filled them in on the situation.

Naruto noticed that the moment that the Jounin arrived the itching sensation on his skin and the haziness of his senses vanished. He also noticed the concerned expression that formed over Kurenai's face. "What is it?"

"We have to find her. Quickly." Kurenai looked around. "Shino."

"_Ah_." Shino raised his arms and a swarm of insects raced out into the air and began to move toward the village.

Kurenai turned. "Kiba."

"It's going to be tough with all the rain." Kiba warned as he began to focus chakra into his nose. He sniffed the air quickly and shook his head. "Akamaru and I will check the hiding spots we know of, see if we can catch her scent."

Kurenai turned to Naruto. "Sometimes when she's upset she goes to gather flowers for her art or her medical supplies. Check the gardens."

Naruto nodded. "Kurenai-_sensei_? What's going on?"

The jounin frowned. "Pray we never have to find out Naruto." She turned away. "_Ike_!"

Naruto took off at the order. He watched as Kiba and Akamaru took of into the lead, the super-sized dog giving them greater speed. Kurenai and Shino lagged farther behind. "The gardens?" Naruto murmured in thought. He always thought of Hinata as being kind of dark, but he never thought of her as the type to wander about aimlessly in the rain. If she wanted flowers, his eyes widened as the idea came to him. He took off in a new direction and in minutes was at his destination and burst inside. "Ino!" He looked on slightly confused as said girl jumped up from behind the counter with a large blush on her face. For a moment, Naruto was sure he saw traces of shock and embarrassment in her expression, like a kid caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

"N-naruto?" The girl looked at the soaking wet boy in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

Naruto shook his thoughts away from Ino. "Has Hinata been here today?"

Ino nodded. "She was by earlier this morning." She sighed. "Didn't buy anything though. Said she just wanted to look at all the blossoms." She paled as Naruto moved toward the counter. "Stay there!"

Naruto stopped, Ino was definitely acting weird. "How long ago? Where did she go?"

"Early, really early." Ino remembered. "We had just opened up and I was putting out fresh arrangements. She surprised me cause I didn't expect to get any customers today with the weather." She closed her eyes as to try to remember the conversation's details. When she opened her eyes again Naruto was right in her face. She let out a startled cry and stumbled back.

In addition to Ino's yell, Naruto heard something under the counter hit with a heavy thump as well. He leaned over and looked under the simple wooden tabletop. "Eh? Shikamaru? Why you hiding under there?"

The chunin glared at the blonde. "You have no idea how troublesome you are."

Naruto blinked. "Ok…" He turned back to Ino. "So? Did she say where she was going?"

Ino shook her head. "She just seemed really sad."

Naruto pounded his fist lightly on the table. "Well, if she comes by hold her here. Ok?"

Ino nodded. "Sure, but why?"

"I have no idea." Naruto admitted. "I think she's in trouble. Seems everyone is looking for her."

Shikamaru stood and adjusted his vest. "It's troublesome, but I'll help you look."

"Me too." Ino grabbed the keys from the wall hook. "Hinata and I aren't exactly best friends, but I'm not about to turn my back on her if she needs help." She ushered them outside and locked the shop. "If we find anything we'll send up a flare."

"Thanks guys." Naruto turned and began to run through the streets. He heard Shikamaru say something about getting Choji to help, but didn't have time to waste. He brought his hands into another seal. "_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!" As he ran through the streets the clones split off into every direction, Naruto was leaving no stone unturned.

"Naruto-_kun_!"

Naruto turned to see Lee and Ten-Ten coming from the street to his right. "Hinata?"

Ten-Ten shook her head. "Neji asked us to try and find her. He seemed really worried."

"Looks like all the rookies are after her now." Naruto furrowed his brow. "With so many people looking for her, how is it we can't find her?"

"Neji-_kun_ once said that Hinata-_san_ was very good at hiding when she didn't want to be found." Lee supplied. "I myself do not know her that well, but I imagine that with her eyes she could easily avoid us if we got to close."

Naruto hadn't considered that Hinata may not want to be found, but she had shown herself to Ino and Sakura, so that didn't make much sense. The three gennin turned as one as long, air slicing howl cut through the rain. As it was the second time he heard it today, Naruto immediately knew what it was. "Kiba's found her!" He leapt on the wall and began running towards the roof tops. As he made his way across the rooftops another howl was heard. He looked back slightly and saw that Lee and Ten-Ten were only a step behind him. Reaching into his hip satchel he pulled out a kunai and an exploding tag. Securing the tag around the blade handle he threw it high into the air, but kept moving as it explode brightly against the gray sky. Hopefully Ino and Shikamaru would understand.

As Naruto landed he saw that Team Eight, minus Kurenai and Hinata, was already gathered. "Did you find her?"

Kiba shook his head. "No, but I got her scent! We can track her now."

Naruto turned and saw Team Ten racing up the street toward them. "All right, let's go!" He let Kiba lead as they wound their way through Konoha's streets.

"Naruto!" Sakura called as she ran the roof tops above them. "Did we…"

"Follow Kiba!" He cut her off. "He'll know!"

Daiki, on the roofs on the other opposite side of the street looked ahead. He sniffed the air lightly. "Not good…" He muttered so the others couldn't hear.

"There's a lot of other scent's mixed in with Hinata's!" Kiba called back.

"Kidnapping?" Shikamaru asked.

Shino shook his head. "The scents vary, but they are similar. Like bees from the same hive."

Naruto grit his teeth. He knew that Hinata's family was strange, but she couldn't be in any trouble with them. Right?

"Naruto!" Daiki called down. "Hyuuga compound straight ahead! Increased guard presence at the gate! Something's going down! She's got to be in there!"

The guards at the gate turned as one. "Halt! You are not permitted to enter these grounds! Turn back immediately!"

"Like hell!" Naruto and Sakura both yelled.

"Kiba! Fall back!" Naruto ordered. He raced to the front line and brought his hands into the seal. He new first hand how formidable the Hyuuga warriors were. "_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!" As his clones appeared he lead them into the charge. "Take them!" It was only for an instant after the orange army appeared that the guards were startled, but that was all the gennin needed. With Naruto at the forefront they scaled the walls and charged into the Hyuuga manor.

"You can't do this!" Neji protested. "She's of the Main House! She is the Heir to the Clan! This can not be allowed to happen!"

Attracted by his friend's voice, Naruto burst through the rice paper door and into the room full of Hyuuga family members. He saw Neji at one side of the room being pinned to the ground by older members of the Main House. "Get off of him!" Naruto charged the group and punched the nearest man in the face to get him off Neji.

With his arm free, Neji was able to gain a small amount of leverage. He pushed on the floor with his hand, allowing him the small amount of rotation he needed to start his jutsu. "_Hakkeshou Kaiten_!" With a blur of chakra, Neji was free of his captors and back on his feet. "Naruto!"

The orange clothed Ninja looked up and saw what Neji was staring at. At the far side of the large room, Hinata lay on a table. Though he could tell she was unconscious now, before she had been put under she had been crying. Naruto's fists clenched in anger. "_Teme_! What have you done to her?"

The Hyuuga elder ignored the boy. Instead, he dipped his brush in to the ink once again and continued to draw on Hinata's forehead.

Naruto clenched his jaw so hard he felt his teeth would break. "Damn you!" He charged wildly, intending to rip the brush from the man's hand, if not rip the hand off entirely. He didn't look back, but he could sense Neji backing him up. The world suddenly took on a light blue tint and he found himself on the ground. He looked up and saw Hyuuga Hiashi staring down at him. "Bastard…"

"You have no cause to be here." Hiashi stated coldly. "I would be well within my rights to kill you for interfering. You have no say in the affairs of my clan."

Naruto was about to respond when the room suddenly became deathly cold. He turned his head back and saw that his friends had been subdued by the other Hyuuga's in the room, except for one.

"Your clan?" Daiki repeated slowly. It was now evidently aware to all in the room that he was responsible for the murderous aura in the air. "Is that all she is to you? Clan?" He lifted his head slowly. His eyes, now colder and harder than any blade could ever be, locked on Hiashi. He growled slightly and turned to the old man, now frozen in fear, next to Hinata. "Drop that brush." When he got no response his hand whipped forward. A chakra threads shot from the tip of each finger as though it was ninja wire, each glowing brightly with a different elemental chakra pattern. The threads pierced the man along his arm, those of the Hyuuga line could see that they cleanly impaled five _tenketsu_, causing the hand to go slack. "I said drop it." Daiki turned to Hiashi once again. "You." He shook his head. "If it weren't for the fact I know she respects you even now, I'd kill you."

Hiashi remained composed, unwilling to let this boy unnerve him. "You have no authority here. The affairs of our clan are our business. You have no standing in them. Not to mention you are in violation of your agreement with the Hokage."

"My promise doesn't apply when it's my own property I'm destroying." Daiki grinned, though not in the playful way that others had seen before, and let his chakra threads vanish with a flare. "And your statement that I've no standing here, well, that's where you're wrong." He stepped forward slightly. "My name is Naoki, son of Misaki and Tsuchi, descendent of the First Great Tree of Konoha, of the Haruno Clan." He locked his eyes on Hiashi's own. "And I don't give a damn about the rest of you, but I extend my claim over Hinata-_san_. Touch her again and your life is forfeit."

One of the Hyuuga in the room, clearly in the branch family given his seal turned to his leader. "Hiashi-_sama_ what is he talking about?"

"It means I own every one of you." Daiki replied coldly. "But you can all go rot in _jigoku_ for all I care, Hinata-_san_ is the only one worth saving."

"How dare you." Hiashi stepped forward. "You dare to claim you own the most prestigious clan in Konoha?" He gasped as Daiki suddenly appeared before him.

"You seem to enjoy your position, your power." Daiki's tone was calm and even on the surface, but it was a thin veil that poorly masked the underlying anger. "Power you've done nothing to warrant. Power you've used to subjugate your followers, your blood. You are a bully, Hyuuga Hiashi. You are but a single leaf on the tree my ancestor cultivated." He raised his hand and placed it before the older man's face. "Fall to the ground little leaf. It's time you see what life is like at the roots of the tree rather than the branches." He grabbed Hiashi's face and there was a blinding flash of light as the seal flared to life. "As my Clan gave you the gift, I now take it back." Daiki let the Hyuuga fall to the ground and walked calmly to Naruto's side. He helped the boy to his feet and then did the same for Neji.

The young Hyuuga genius stared. "What have you done?"

"Far less then I should. And likely, far less than all that I will do by the time I am finished." Daiki turned. "I was mistaken, you might be worth saving as well." He lifted Hinata off the table, cradling her gently in his arms. He looked down at her forehead. The two side characters were fully formed, as was one line of the cross at the center. The second line of the cross was only half completed.

He turned around and began to walk from the room. "Sakura-_sama_, go to Tsunade-_sama_ tell her we need a level five seal room. Naruto-_san,_ Neji-_san_, I will be requiring your assistance as well. Please come with me." He paused as a few Hyuuga guards tried to block his path. "Do you really want to end up like him that badly?" He continued to push past the guards. "I thought not."

The other gennin followed the foreign ninja in confused awe. Each taking one last look at the Hyuuga Clan Head who was still on the floor.

Hiashi was visibly trembling, as he looked about the room he knew something was terribly wrong. He grabbed for the nearest attendant. "Mirror!" In a few moments time he held the mirror in his hands. He stared at the unfamiliar eyes.

Eyes that were the darkest shade of brown he had ever seen.

OOOOO

Rider: So yeah, what did everyone think? Good? Bad? Otherwise? As always, please let me know what you think if you have a moment to spare. Those who beta-ed this for me said it felt rushed. In all honesty, that's pretty much how I wanted it to try and raise the tension level a bit for the later chapters. Sorry about Sasuke not making it in here, (for those of you who were looking for him) he was supposed to originally, but it just didn't fit cleanly.

Star: No one likes Sasuke anyway.

Sakura: I do!

Star: Where the hell'd you come from?

Wraiths: Oh, this is not going to go over well.

Rider: Yeah, I suggest everyone clear out before (ducks as kunai and Shuriken fill the air) Ok, I'm out of here. 'Till the next, live well all.

Wraiths: See you round people!

Star: Get over here so I can kill you cotton candy haired brat!


	9. True Natures

Rider: (holding head in hands, looking quite ill) Stop the world, I wanna get off.

Star: I know you said you wanted to blow off some steam after finals but…damn.

Rider: (glares at Star, all six of her) I hate you so much right now… (turns back to the readers) Hi there everyone. Sorry for the slow update. But yeah, finals kind of took priority for a while. Any way, here it is for your reading pleasure. Please enjoy and I will see you…

Wraiths: Well look who it is! Mr. Life of the Party!

Rider: Get out. I'm not dealing with you after last night.

Wraiths: Oh, but you looked like you were having so much fun! (turns to readers) Honestly people you should have seen him! He…

Rider: (wallops Wraiths over the head sending him to the realm of unconscious) I warned you…Oops…moved to fast. (Falls backwards, eyes spin in opposite directions)

Star: (glancing between the two downed guys) _Baka_.

OOOOO

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, you'd see my name on the manga cover. Clearly it's not there, so I don't own Naruto.

Spoiler warning: Nah, I think were ok here.

OOOOO

A Shinobi's Decision

Chapter Nine: True Natures

Ten-Ten looked out the window as the rain continued to pour down. She turned away and looked around the hospital waiting room at her other friends. Everyone from the raid on the Hyuuga compound was there with the exceptions of Hinata, Neji, Sakura, Naruto, and Daiki. "Did we really just see that?"

"It has to be some kind of _genjutsu_." Shikamaru replied as he continued to stare puzzle book lying open on the table before him. "I mean, it's not like some one can just remove someone's eye like that. Let alone a Bloodline as powerful as Neji and Hinata have."

Ino looked over at her teammate, then down to the blank puzzle sheet. Even she could get a few of the answers to these problems. She knew that Shikamaru was trying desperately to wrap his head around a much bigger puzzle. A puzzle with seemingly no answer. "But, we heard Hiashi-_san_ yelling as we left. If it were _genjutsu_, wouldn't it have worn off after Daiki left?"

Kiba shook his head. "Some _genjutsu_ are long lasting, like position fixed traps. We were actually being tested on some of them by Kurenai-_sensei_…" He paused and looked over at his partner. "_Kuso_! We forgot to tell _Sensei_ about this!"

Shino nodded. "I've sent a _Kikai bunshin_ out to locate her. She will likely be here soon."

Lee paused from the sit ups he was doing on the floor to look over at Ten-Ten. "Perhaps we should inform Gai-_sensei_ as well. He would want to know about happened to Neji-_kun_."

"But guys," Choji interrupted as he opened a bag of potato chips. "We just busted in on one of the major clans in our village. Much as I hate to say it, Hinata's dad was right. We technically shouldn't have been there. We could be in a lot of trouble."

Shikamaru nodded. "Even if it was to help Hinata and Neji, we attacked our own fellow villagers. By the time this gets to the Hokage and the council," He sighed heavily. "We may now be labeled as traitors." The room became deathly silent as the statement sunk in, only the patter of the rain outside provided any backdrop. "It's troublesome, but as the highest rank here I will take responsibility. When you are questioned you will say you were acting under my orders. Is that understood?"

"I will not." Lee placed his arms on his knees and stared straight at Shikamaru. "The fires of youth will not permit me to lie. I will tell the truth when the time comes."

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed slightly. "So troublesome. Lee, the council will not care about your fire or your youth or anything else. As a Chunin, I am giving you an order."

"Then I will be a traitor twice today." Lee stood quickly. "I was not following orders this morning. Neji-_kun_ asked me for my help. My teammate, my friend, came to me in his moment of need and I gladly gave him any assistance I could. It was my choice to do the things I did. I do not regret that decision. If I must be punished because of it…" He shrugged his shoulders. "Then I will take it gladly as well."

Ten-Ten stared at Lee. Given the rivalry that Lee and Neji had formed over the past few years, she had almost expected to Lee to leave Neji to fight his own battle in this case. She had clearly underestimated Lee, and she felt a little ashamed by that fact. "I agree with Lee. I'll stand by my decision."

The others all slowly gave similar nods or statements turning down Shikamaru's order. The young Chunin sighed. "The jail is going to be very crowded. How troublesome."

Ino smiled weakly and rested the back of her hand against Shikamaru's. She took a measure of his strength as his fingers intertwined with her own a moment later.

"I am concerned though." Lee continued. "That aura we felt, has anyone else felt anything like it before?"

"At the last exam." Choji nodded as he continued to eat. "When everyone thought that Neji had won, Naruto pulled out this weird red chakra. That felt a lot like it."

Lee blinked. "I missed the matched between Naruto-_kun_ and Neji_-kun_." He thought for a moment. "But when I was sent to help bring back Sasuke-_kun_, I found Naruto-_kun_ fighting one of Orochimaru's experiments, the one named Kimimaro." He paused. "Naruto-_kun_'s eyes were red, and he had a very similar aura to what Daiki showed in the Hyuuga home."

Kiba blinked, having never heard this part of the mission debriefing before. "Are you serious?" He scratched his head. "I knew he could put out a lot of chakra but, that kind of killer intent? From Naruto? I don't believe it."

"The fires of my youth will not allow me to lie." Lee stated again. "What I say is true."

"After my battle with Kankuro," Shino suddenly began to talk, shocking everyone. "I lost consciousness due to the poison in my body. However, after my father came and helped me I regained enough of my senses to detect another large battle deep in the forest." He paused for so long that the others feared he was finished with the story. "One was Naruto's chakra signature, more powerful than any I've ever felt. The other was from the _Suna-nin_. The one named Gaara. Both of their patterns were surprisingly similar."

"Then, is it possible there's some kind of connection between Daiki and Garra?" Ten-Ten asked. "I heard a little bit of what Daiki said when he first came to Konoha and fought with us. About his grudge against Kakashi-_sensei_ but, do you think he might have been lying? Maybe he knows Gaara. Maybe Garra sent Daiki to get revenge on Naruto where he couldn't."

Choji leaned back a bit in his chair. "I've spoken with Sakura during our training breaks. I don't think Daiki would be the kind of guy to lie about something like that. You know, given what happened to his family."

Lee nodded. "And Gaara-_kun_ helped me in my fight with Kimimaro. I do not believe that he would send anyone against us now." He leaned back against the wall and slid until he was in a chair-less sitting position. "There is only one possible conclusion." He looked up at the group with a sparkle in his eye. "The reason that Naruto-_kun_, Gaara-_kun_, and Daiki-_kun_ have similar chakra patterns is because…" He paused for dramatic effect. "They are all brothers who were separated at birth!"

The others simply stared at the green clad ninja. "No." They replied in one unanimous voice.

"Just because their chakra patterns are similar doesn't mean there's a connection at all." Ino continued. "I mean, before Sakura and I went our different ways in our training, we had similar patterns too. We can't make that claim anymore."

"Then it's just a coincidence that three of the most powerful ninja, gennin no less, I've ever seen happen to all have this weird chakra?" Kiba huffed and crossed the room to sit in one of the empty chairs. "I trust chance to explain some things, but this is a bit much."

"Then what's your theory?" Ino asked, annoyed with Kiba's reaction.

Kiba shrugged. "I don't have one. I've been trained as a tracker since I was old enough to walk. A tracker can't take anything at face value. We're making all these assumptions based on really weak evidence of what's passed before us." He leaned forward in his chair and let Akamaru, now small again that the size change jutsu had been canceled, down on to the floor. He scratched the little dog behind his ears. " There is a connection, no doubt about that. But we don't have enough information to jump to what it is yet."

"He's right." Shikamaru nodded. "Daiki's been in this village almost three months now. Yet we know almost nothing about him. We've all simply accepted him because _Godaime-sama_ and Sakura said he's ok." He looked around the room. "He's already attacked us once. How better to mask a second attack then to rope us into it as well?"

Ino blinked, remembering the way that Daiki had acted around her. First attacking her as that little frog thing, then almost flirting with her in the flower shop later. Which was the real Daiki? Even so, something nagged at her. "But he looked so angry at what they did to Hinata-_chan_. Even without using my _Shin Ten Shin_ to jump into his head and know his feelings completely, I didn't get the sensation that he was faking that reaction."

Lee picked his head back up. "Ten-Ten-_chan_, do you remember what Daiki-_kun_ said to Kakashi-_sensei_ when they fought?"

It took the weapon mistress a moment to catch on to what Lee was referring to. "He yelled that his name was Daiki, not Naoki." She looked around at the others. "But when he was in front of the Hyuuga elders, he said his name was Naoki, not Daiki."

"The way he said his name," Choji stopped eating a moment. "The style he used was really formal. I've only heard my dad use that kind of phrasing at really important Clan meetings."

"Same with my dad." Shikamaru nodded. "Naoki, son of Misaki and Tsuchi." He paused at the next part of the address. "Descendent of the First Great Tree of Konoha, of the Haruno Clan."

"We did already know about him being a member of the Haruno Clan." Shino stated. "One only need look at the crest on his back to know that."

"Standard greetings have three parts though." Shikamaru's eyebrow twitched as his brain railed against this latest aspect of the puzzle with little to show for it. "First name, parents, and clan. He added the part about the Great Tree. Why?"

"At the very least, we know the names of his parents now." Kiba scratched his face absent mindedly. "We should be able to check the birth records to see what his history looks like at least."

"Maybe not." Shino corrected. "He came from outside the village. He may have been labeled a missing-nin. In which case his records will be sealed from the public."

Kiba glared at his partner. "You've been studying with your old man again, haven't you?"

"We really have nothing else to go on though." Ten-Ten reminded everyone. "Daiki won't just willingly give us this information about him. And if there is a connection between the shared chakra patterns he's going to be even more secretive."

"What makes you say that?" Ino leaned over and rested against Shikamaru.

"Until you guys said something, I only knew about Naruto's chakra from the exam." Ten-Ten looked at the others. "But in each and every point that you guys have brought up, Naruto's been in a life and death situation." Her eyes shifted toward the ground. "He's also been alone. He's never used this ability when any of us are near by." She looked back up. "We've known him since the academy, but he's never once shared this part of himself with any of us."

Choji looked down. "Maybe he shared that secret with his teammates. Sakura might know something."

"Sasuke might know too, but that just means that the secret of one of our friends is in the hands of the _Hebi-teme_." Kiba nodded slowly.

Shikamaru thought the situation over carefully. "What if Naruto didn't share his secret with his team?" He paused as the others looked on at him. "What if Sasuke found out whatever this secret might be and…" He looked down. "What if that's part of the reason that Sasuke left?"

The other's stared at the Chunin in shock. It was Choji who broke the uncomfortable silence. "What secret could be so terrible that it would cause someone to abandon his teammate and friend?" He glanced over at Ino. "Not to pour salt in the wound, but Sasuke never was quite right in the head after, well you guys know." He shook his head. "Naruto already blames himself that Sasuke left, he wouldn't do anything to make things worse."

"My friends!" Lee stood up again. "We are now investigating one of our own friends! Such actions are most unyouthful! Naruto has never been anything more than the most trustworthy person I have ever known! I will not hear anymore such slanders against him!"

"Lee's right." Kiba stood. "Naruto's a good guy. Stupid, but a good guy. We should focus on the real target here. Daiki." He opened his jacket and Akamaru jumped inside. "I'm going to check on Hinata and the others." He heard the others shuffling behind him and saw they were following after him towards the patients rooms on the upper floors. Only Shikamaru remained seated.

At last the Chunin rose. "Kiba, you're right. We should focus on Daiki. However, we should also focus on Naruto."

"Why?" Lee spun angrily.

"Because he's our friend." Shikamaru stated. "Secrets are painful to carry alone. I made a decision when we came back from our mission. That mission. I decided I didn't want to see my friends in pain any more. Whatever it is, I don't want Naruto bearing that pain alone."

Lee looked at Shikamaru for a moment. "Is that an order?" He smiled and gave a big thumbs up. "Because that one I do not mind following at all." The others laughed and pushed him from the waiting room towards the stairs.

Around the corner from the gennin troupe, five people stood listening. Tsunade turned and saw mixed emotions on the faces of her four Jounin-sensei. "I don't know if I should feel proud of them, or scared for them." She sighed heavily. "You're going to have to be on your toes in every sense of the word for this up coming mission."

The four Jounin looked between each other and then back to their Hokage. "_Hai_."

Tsunade nodded. "Let's get upstairs." She turned and began to follow after the path the gennin had taken. "Time to figure out just what the hell happened."

OOOOO

Hinata woke slowly. She opened her eyes and immediately regret it as the light seemed to stab directly into her brain sending off waves of intense pain. Squinting to the point she could barely see, she sat up and realized that she was not in her room as she had expected, but in the hospital. Panic filled her small frame as she considered all the things that could have gone wrong from the sealing process. She scrambled blindly to remove the covers that entangled her, only to be rewarded with a shooting pain as she accidentally ripped her IV lines from her arm causing her to yelp in surprise. Despite her hazy vision she was able to see a quick flash as someone move to her side.

"Easy Hinata-_chan_. You've been through a lot."

Hinata recognized the voice. "S-sakura-_chan_? Where are you? I can barely see." She allowed a relieved sigh to escape as Sakura took her hand. "Sakura-_chan_, must the lights be so bright?"

Sakura frowned a moment. "Hang on." She released Hinata's hand and moved to turn the overhead lights off as well as close the curtains at the windows. Now only some of the excess light from the edges of the windows and from the hallway lights outside the door entered the small room. "Try now."

Hinata again opened her eyes. Though she still had to squint a little bit, she was able to see much clearer now. "What happened?" She saw Sakura fidget slightly, something Hinata hadn't seen happen since their days at the academy. "S-something bad?" Her voice trembled nervously.

Sakura waved her hands as she saw Hinata's fearful expression. "Nothing like that." She crossed the room and pushed Hinata back into her bed. She smiled at the girl as she began to reset the IV lines. "You gave everyone a bit of a scare is all. We were all really worried about you."

"Something went wrong with the sealing ceremony?" Hinata winced a little as she felt the new needle enter her arm.

"I guess you could say that." Sakura carefully adjusted the medicine bag above Hinata's bed, carefully avoiding eye contact with her classmate. "We kind of interrupted it."

Hinata gasped. "But then…" She scrambled to try escaping her bed but Sakura held her down. "Please, Sakura-_chan_, I must see…"

"Ok." Sakura soothed gently as she focused chakra into her palms, trying to relax the younger girl. "But stay in bed." Letting go of Hinata, Sakura pulled her spying mirror from her hip pouch and held it out.

Hinata grabbed the mirror and pulled back her hair that covered her forehead. She gasped as she stared at the seal. "It's…not finished."

Sakura nodded. "When we figured out you were in trouble, everyone tried to help protect you."

Hinata jerked at the statement. "That's why…" She started to cry. "T-that's w-why the seal was b-b-being put into place."

Sakura blinked. "Hinata-_chan_, I don't understand." She sat on the bed and gently rubbed Hinata's back. "Why was the seal being put on you?"

"I-I'm weak." Hinata continued to let the tears fall onto her covers. "I a-always rely on someone else to s-save me. It's to d-dangerous to the clan to have me out on missions w-without the seal." She let her head fall forward and her sobs became harder to control. Her voice dropped to nearly a whisper. "_Gomen nasai…Okaa-san_."

Sakura could hardly remember all the arguments she had had with her own mother over the years, but something cut through her as she heard Hinata's apology to the late Hyuuga headmistress. A woman who by all accounts, Hinata should have barely remembered. Sakura couldn't begin to imagine what was going through Hinata's head right now. "You're not weak Hinata-_chan_. We wouldn't have come for you if you were." She smiled as Hinata lifted her head slightly. "Especially those three."

"Three?" Hinata sniffed.

Sakura handed over a box of tissues from a nearby table. "They actually had to restrain Neji from coming to help you." A small smile turned at her lips as she saw Hinata's surprise. "And Daiki?" She whistled. "We though all hell was going to break loose when he reacted." Sakura looked up at the ceiling. "And Naruto?" She laughed lightly. "I wish he was like that on our missions. He took control so quickly. Giving orders and getting us through the house. Leading the charge to get to you." She looked over at the girl from the corner of her eye. "None of them would do that for someone they considered weak. Especially Naruto."

Hinata was in full blush mode by this point. "What do you mean?"

Sakura leaned forward a bit and swung her legs lightly. "Naruto values strength more than everything, except maybe friendship. I remember on our first real mission, he yelled at someone he considered weak. Naruto stormed off, and we thought he wasn't going to go through with the mission for a little while." She turned to face Hinata. "But when the boy tried to protect his mom and his village, Naruto came right to his aid." She smiled. "Naruto won't fight to protect people he thinks are weak. But he'll give everything he has to protect someone who's strong enough to stand up for themselves." She smiled at Hinata. "For him to fight as hard as he did this morning, he must think you're really strong."

Hinata let her head fall forward once more, letting her bangs hide her face in the dim light. "_Arigatou Sakura-chan_." She shielded her eyes to look up as the door to her room opened.

"Good." Daiki walked in and moved toward the two girls. "You're finally awake." He reached out and took Hinata's wrist as he checked her pulse. "Excellent, you're back to normal." Daiki let go and smiled at Hinata. "Must be from hanging around with _ahou_ the past few days. You recover quickly."

"Eh? Why's it so dark in here?" Naruto reached for the lights switch as he entered the room, but was gently restrained by Neji.

"The seal makes the eyes sensitive to light for a short time." Neji whispered.

Hinata lowered her hand as the door closed. "What is everyone doing here?"

Daiki looked over at Sakura. "How much have you told her?"

"Not much." Sakura shook her head. "Only that we interrupted the ceremony."

"I see." He sat down in one of the chairs near Hinata's bed. "You should know right now, a lot has happened in the few hours you've been asleep."

"Hours?" Hinata glanced at the clock and saw it was indeed into the mid afternoon. "What happened? Why was I? How did?"

Daiki, seeing that the girl could scarcely form a question, raised a hand to stop her. "We can get into all that later. For now you have an important decision to make."

Hinata blinked. "I d-do?"

Daiki frowned. "Listen to me carefully Hinata-_san_. What you have been told about the _Byakugan, _and the Caged Bird Seal, is a lie."

Hinata jerked back at the words. "But how?"

Daiki looked around the room. "There is history between the Clans of Haruno and Hyuuga. Some of it good, most of it not. Naruto has been allowed to hear this because Neji asked he be included." He shrugged. "There is much that is best left resigned to the past, but there are some things that you should know for now."

Hinata got that sinking feeling in her stomach that was all to familiar to her. "Like what?"

"Have you ever considered the improbability of the evolution of the _Byakugan_ blood line?" Daiki asked. "And that of the _Sharingan_ for that mater? How many other villages have a _doujutsu_? Let alone two, that make the wielder virtually invincible?"

Hinata shook her head. "N-none that I'm aware of."

Daiki nodded. "Because there aren't any. The first recording of the _Byakugan_ was almost two hundred and fifty years ago. They thought that the infant was born blind, but when they tested her they realized that she had perfect vision. As she got older, the full abilities presented as she continued to advance her training. She became one of the most powerful ninja of the age. Konoha prospered, and the council could not wait for her to marry and have children that they may gain more shinobi with her miraculous eyes. Do you know what happened?"

Hinata shook her head. How often had she studied the histories of her clan? And yet, she had never heard mention of this origin of her heritage.

"Nothing." Daiki drew a line in the air with his hand. "The children were as normal as they come. This discovery was a great tragedy to the council. They asked the foremost medical experts of the time to determine why this had happened."

"And…those experts were your ancestors." Hinata was beginning to see how the two clans met. "What did they find?"

"The woman had an ultra rare mutation that caused the _Byakugan_ to form." Daiki continued. "A mutation that was not passed on to her children. When she died, the _Byakugan_ would die with her."

Hinata looked down at the mirror still in her hand. "But clearly something happened. What was it?"

Daiki noticed that Hinata had not stuttered on this question. "My Clan happened. We isolated the mutation, and introduced it to the infants born to her. Within days, the assimilation took place and the bloodline gained it's roots. Over the coming generations my clan and yours worked very carefully to ensure that all those born into the Hyuuga line possessed the _Byakugan_. Eventually the clan became large enough that artificial mutations were no longer needed." Daiki leaned back in his chair. "Neji-_san_, you've heard all this already. Why don't you continue?"

Neji responded with a silent nod. It had taken him sometime to accept what Daiki had told him, Hinata would likely try to deny this part as well. Hopefully hearing it from him would make things slightly easier. "With the growing power base of the Hyuuga, many felt that our clan should be in charge of Konoha's daily and military affairs." He paused considering his words carefully. "When these demands went unmet, members of the clan attempted a coup. It failed."

Hinata stared at her cousin. "We…our clan turned against the village?" She shook her head. "I Don't believe you! Our clan is sworn to protect this village at all costs! We…" Her voice died away as she met Neji's eyes. There was no malice, no spite, no indication of any kind that he was lying to her. "Please continue."

"Those that were caught were put on trial." Neji continued softly. "Many were executed outright, but others were punished in a different fashion." His eyes shifted slightly to Hinata's forehead. "With the all seeing eye it was feared that the traitors would defect to other villages and be able to avoid detection by the hunter-nins. A method was needed to keep the suspected rouges under control."

Hinata saw the shift in Neji's gaze and shivered. Her hand moved slowly to trace the lines of the seal. "Then this was?"

Neji nodded. "Working with the closely with the Haruno Clan, the leaders of the Hyuuga Clan created the Caged Bird Seal as a means of maintaining control of the rebel shinobi. It was meant to be something of a…a prison monitor for lack of a better reference." He looked down at the ground and clenched his fist. "Those who were sealed were to be freed once the had regained the trust of the village, but that never came to be."

Hinata felt her own hand twitch slightly as she saw Neji's reaction. Why had no one told her these things? How could they have been allowed to happen in the first place? There must have been a better way than this. "They were discriminated against. Weren't they?"

Seeing Neji's barely veiled anger, Sakura continued. "Yes, so much so that the clan was split into two."

Hinata nodded as the pieces fell into place. "That's how the branch family was formed." She bit her lip slightly. "I've seen how cruel the Main family can be to those they consider inferior." Her voice dropped a little. "They probably kept the two groups separate to prevent mixed children, that way they had an excuse for sealing the children of the branch family when they had done nothing wrong."

Daiki nodded, not surprised that Hinata had figured out that part on her own. Neji had done the same. Different as the two of them might be, Daiki knew Neji and Hinata to both be very bright.

Hinata stared down at her covers. "But I don't understand, if the seal was to only monitor those who had been found guilty, how is the bloodline sealed away?" She thought on the issue a moment longer. "The _Byakugan_ was originally artificially induced." She murmured in thought. "If it could be induced in the Hyuuga Clan, there is nothing to say that it could not be induced in others as well." She turned to Sakura and Daiki. "A failsafe was put in with the mutation right from the beginning, wasn't there?"

Daiki smiled. He hadn't been sure that Hinata would get that part, but he had hoped. He also noted how her stutter had vanished from her speech as the conversation had gone on. "Yes, there is a kill switch tied to certain metabolic processes. When those processes stop, the _Byakugan _becomes inert. For all members of the Hyuuga Clan, not just those sealed into the Branch Family." He leaned forward. "Now that you've heard all of this, you are faced with a choice Hinata-_san_."

Hinata swallowed hard. "I do not know that I can do this."

"Sure you can Hinata." Naruto finally spoke up. "You're way stronger than you've ever been before, plus you'll have us to back you up." He raised his hands behind his head and smiled broadly. "You can do anything you set your mind to Hinata, you proved that at the exams and on missions."

Hinata blushed a furious shade of red as she remembered Naruto was in the room. He had been so quiet for so long she had forgotten he was there. "N-naruto-_kun_? Do you really mean that?"

Naruto nodded with a big grin. "Yeah, you're my friend. I'd be really happy to help you with this."

Sakura smiled slightly as she saw Hinata blush and look down at the covers.

"Ok." She finally spoke, her voice soft but also strong. "I will go to the elders of the clan and tell them what I have learned. I will do everything I can to convince them to fix their actions against the Branch family." She looked up. "I can not say what will happen, but I will try." She blinked as she saw the others staring at her.

Daiki began to laugh. "Well, not quite the decision I meant, but a very good one none the less."

Hinata blinked. "What do you mean?"

Daiki continued to laugh lightly. "Show her. It'll be easier than explaining."

Hinata looked around the room at the others. Sakura smiled at her. Naruto grinned widely. Neji pushed his hair back away from his forehead. Hinata looked back at Daiki in confusion before her mind registered what she just saw. "_Neji-onii-chan_…" She gasped. "Your seal…"

Neji held his forehead protector in his hand and let Hinata stare at his blank face a moment longer. "When I heard the tale of our history, I did not believe either. To prove the truth of his words, they removed my seal." He brought his leaf head band up and retied it into place. "We can do the same for you."

Hinata paled as she realized this was the decision to be made. To remove the seal or not. What she had blurted out earlier caused her face to become hot with embarrassment. "But…you said you'd all help me."

Daiki nodded. "I will be performing the main procedure with Sakura-_sama_ acting as my second so that she can learn the technique. Because your seal is incomplete, it's a bit harder to remove because of the free floating elements, so Neji-_san_ will be assisting to locate all the traces of the seal that may not be strictly fixed. And because removing a seal of this magnitude is no small task," He glanced over at the last member of the room and gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. "Since the seal is fairly complex, _Ahou_ over there will be providing the bulk of the chakra we need." He turned back to Hinata. "If that is what you choose to do however."

Hinata looked around at her room. "Sakura-_chan_? Could you open the blinds?" Hinata smiled as she saw the rain had stopped and the sun fought to cut through the clouds. "I…I would like start now."

Daiki nodded. "I'll get the room prepared." He turned and left the room.

Hinata looked around at her friends and gave each a small smile, though she still had to look away and blush when she got to a certain blonde. There would be a lot for her to do now. She was grateful to have them by her side for this.

OOOOO

Naruto took a deep breath as he lay in the empty training field before letting it out as slowly as he could. He could train for hours, days even, and not be tired. Yet the two seal removals had taxed him like never before. He lifted his hand in front of his face, watching as it continued to twitch uncontrollably. "Who knew donating chakra could be so much work?" With a sigh, he let his hand fall back down to his side and continued to watch the sky turn from blue, to orange-red, and then to black as the stars came out. He watched the stars in silence for a while. "I wonder, are you watching the sky too?" The whispered thought was interrupted as he heard someone coming up from behind him.

"I thought I might find you here." Sakura sat down beside Naruto and held out a small brown paper bag. "They're only from the hospital cafeteria, but I figure they're better than nothing."

Naruto opened the bag to find a couple of wrapped _onigiri_ inside. He took one for himself and handed the other back to Sakura. "You should eat too. You worked harder than I did."

Sakura took the rice ball and took a small bite. "We wouldn't have been able to do it without you though."

Naruto laughed around the mouthful of rice he shoved into his face. "Nah, I was just the chakra battery, you were the one to do all the hard stuff." He finished his meal with another bite and leaned back. "Honestly, you're amazing Sakura-_chan_."

Sakura blushed slightly and quickly looked up at the stars in an attempt to hide this fact. She continued to eat slowly as silence descended upon them. It was companionable at first, two friends simply enjoying one another's company, but soon it became to much for her to stand. "We have to go see Tsunade-_sama_ tomorrow." She finally whispered quietly. "All of us, everyone who broke into the Hyuuga compound." She turned to her teammate, and was surprised to see no sense of fear in his body language.

"Tsunade-_obaa-chan_ won't do anything too bad." He leaned back and lay his head in his hands on the grass. "She likes Hinata-_chan_ as much as she likes you."

Sakura marveled at how Naruto could be so laid back about the whole situation, causing a small smile to turn her lips despite her worry. Finishing her own rice ball, Sakura also laid back and folded her hands on her stomach. "You think so? About Tsunade-_shishou_ being lenient?"

Naruto nodded slightly without getting up, his eyes wandering over the stars. "Even if the punishment is bad, you guys won't have to worry about it."

Sakura turned her head towards her teammate confused. "Why's that?" She felt her throat tighten slightly as Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"Because I was the one who gave the order to go forward." Naruto finally stated after a moment of quiet.

Sakura shook her head. "No you didn't. We all made that choice…"

"After I said 'take them'." Naruto cut her off. "That makes it my call. You guys, all of you, are protected."

"But you were talking to your clones!" Sakura began to sit up slightly, leaning on her elbows to prop herself up. "You gave the order to your shadow clones! Not to us!"

"But if we go before the council, they won't know that." He turned at last to look into Sakura's eyes. "Even if it's from our own people, I will protect all those who are precious to me. I made that decision a long time ago Sakura-_chan_." He smiled as he saw the tell-tale twinkle in her eye as she remembered the promise at the gate so many months ago. "I don't go back on my word. That's my _nindo_." He stopped as he saw tears begin to fall from Sakura's eyes. His eyes widened as she sat up and quickly followed suit. They faced each other in silence in that half-sitting half crouching position for at least a minute with Naruto at a loss for words as Sakura bowed her head to avoid his gaze. Unsure of what to do next he decided it would be best to simply ask what he did wrong and get his beating over with.

"Naruto?" Sakura kept her voice in a tone that made it clear she was not looking for a response just yet. "Your _nindo_…" She continued to stare at the ground, hoping that her position and the darkness of the evening was hiding her tears from Naruto. "Your _nindo_…I hate it."

Naruto, for the second time today, felt his strength leave his body. He looked down at the ground, sadness clearly readable on his face. He had long ago, as long as his thirteen years would allow, accepted the fact that Sakura only had eyes for his leading rival. That Sasuke already held Sakura's heart, and upon his return would hold her mind and body as well. He knew all that. As much as it tore him apart, he knew that, but he had made peace too. He wanted Sakura to be happy, even at the expense of his own. Yet here and now, after everything that they had been through together, the promise he had made to her, she told him she hated the one thing that was even closer to his own heart than even Sakura herself was. "_Gomenyo Sakura-chan_…" He started to stand only to feel a firm grip on his wrists. He stared, shocked, as Sakura's white knuckled hands grabbed for him.

"Don't you dare walk away from me too!" Sakura nearly yelled, revealing her tearstained face as she looked up at Naruto. "Don't you dare walk away! I'm not done!"

Naruto nodded and sat back down. "Ok." He replied softly. Taking her hands as gently as he could into his own, Naruto stroked her hands and gave them a reassuring squeeze. "Ok."

Sakura's gaze fell from Naruto's face again, though not to the ground as before. "I don't hate your _nindo_ Naruto." She finally continued. "I hate the fact that it makes you have to take everything on yourself. I hate the fact that you try so hard to protect everyone, you get hurt along the way. I hate the fact that your _nindo_ blinds you to the fact that you are precious to us!"

She met his eyes on the last exchange and released everything she had been feeling the past few months. "You're important to all of us Naruto! Whether you see it or not!" She looked down again. "I don't know what happened before we met that made you the way you are. I don't know when, or where, or how you found the strength to do all the things we've seen you do. From what I remember _kaa-san_ telling me about your childhood, I don't even know why you work as hard as you do for all of us."

Naruto was speechless as Sakura told him all of this. No one, not even Iruka or the Old Man, the closest people he had ever had to family, had expressed such things about him.

"But I do know," Sakura continued, pulling Naruto from his thoughts. "That you hurt the same as the rest of us. If not more." She smiled at the confused look in his eyes. "I've seen the way you look at people Naruto. Before I met Ino, I had a similar look to that. I don't want to see that look on your face anymore. The need for acceptance. You have it Naruto, from all of us. You just need to open your eyes and see it."

"Sakura-_chan_…"

Sakura shook her head. "I want to say, 'I release you from your promise', but I know you won't break a promise. I know you won't violate your _nindo_." She looked up and locked eyes with Naruto. "But you're going to make me a new promise right here and now."

Naruto did the only thing he could do. He nodded.

"You're going to promise me, that you are going to let others help you, starting with me." Sakura smiled at him. "Cause I'll be damned if I'm going to lose another teammate and be stuck by myself with our chronically late, _hentai_ reading, Jounin-sensei."

Naruto laughed at the last part and looked down. "Ok." He looked back at Sakura. "You have my promise Sakura-_chan_. I will let people help me fulfill my other promises." He smiled a bit wider. "And I won't go anywhere, cause no one should be left alone with our pervert-sensei." He looked down a bit. "Like I said, I'll be here if you ever need me."

Sakura blinked. "When did you say that?"

Naruto blushed bright red realizing what he had said aloud. He looked down and saw that they were also still holding hands.

Sakura followed Naruto's gaze and felt her face become hot as well. They quickly let go of each other and jumped away as though they had been violently shocked. Naruto scratched behind his head absently with one hand while he stared off into the sky. Sakura looked down at the ground and nervously wound her hands in her lap.

"It's getting late." Naruto finally broke the tense silence. "And you're probably tired after the surgery thing." Naruto swallowed hard. "Why don't I…walk…you…home?"

Sakura looked up at Naruto's outstretched hand, and the way he looked in the opposite direction. She also heard the nervous treble in his voice. Swallowing to try and cure her suddenly dry throat, Sakura nodded. "That would be nice." With Naruto's help she got to her feet, but both quickly pulled away from the contact after that. They walked the darkened streets of Konoha slowly and in complete quiet but for the sounds of their breathing. Before long, they were outside Sakura's family home, but neither seemed to be able to separated from the other's company. "Well…goodnight." She finally weakly managed.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah…Goodnight." He turned to leave when he felt Sakura's hand on his own once more.

"Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember what I said to night."

"I will." Naruto waited as Sakura's hand let go and he heard the door latch shut and lock as she retired for the night. He put his hands in his pockets and began the long walk home to his own apartment in the far off, considerably more run down, area of the village. As he walked, a smile crept across his face.

His pace began to increase and he found himself starting to laugh. The laughter increased as he broke into an all out run up the side of the nearest building. With holler of pure joy, and many more after that, Naruto ran, skipped, jumped, and flipped his way home across the rooftops of Konoha. For the first time in as long as Naruto could remember, he was truly happy.

OOOOO

Rider: Good? Bad? Otherwise? If you have a moment, please leave a little something to tell me what you think. Or, you know, just yell at me to keep me motivated to get the next chapter up faster.

Star: About time you gave Naruto a happy ending.

Wraiths: Where the hell is Hiashi?! I wanted to see some carnage!

Rider: He'll show his face next chapter, as will a certain fire breathing brat. I promise for real this time. Also, I need a little input from you guys. The Chunin exams are rapidly approaching and I'm stuck in how I want to do them. While I like the simple style outlined my the manga, it feels over used to me as it's been in nearly every story I've read on FF. So, I'm going to mix things up a bit. This is where you guys come in. If you have any suggestions on tests to be given I'd love to hear them. Of course I will give you guys full credit for any ideas that I can weave into my story. So yeah, I'm going to stop talking now so you guys can go about your lives.

Star: Bye people!

Wraiths: Later.

Rider: 'Till the next, live well all.


	10. Growth

Rider: _Konbawa minasan_! How have you all been? Sorry about the slow update. Graduation parties kind of over took my life for a short while, and then I got my hands on the latest volume of .hackGU, so yeah…

Wraiths: You're going to let me borrow that game right?

Rider: Only if you do it again.  
Star: Does what again?

Wraiths: I can't do it with her here.

Rider: Then no game for you. (turn back to readers) Ok, one last thing before we begin. I've grown tired of having people asking me who's getting paired with who, and when I get tired of something I avoid it like the plague. I do not want to avoid this story, so you all win. If you haven't already guessed by the summary, SasuSaku and NaruHina will be the main pairings. Everyone else you'll just have to wait and see. Enjoy the story everyone.

OOOOO

Disclaimer: Negotiations are currently in effect for me to assume ownership of the Naruto-verse, but until it's official I have to state that I still do not own Naruto. But it's only a mater of time now…

Spoiler Warning: If you're not to the time skip and Team Seven adjusted line up there are hints at the spoilers. You have been warned.

OOOOO

A Shinobi's Decision

Chapter Ten: Growth

They stood silently and at strict attention. Even the glaring visage of the now brown eyed Hyuuga Hiashi was not enough to make them break their stance. Though they had all resolved to own up to their actions from the previous day and steeled themselves for the worst, they failed to consider just how scary their often friendly _Godaime_ could really be when she put her mind to it. And so, the rookie nine along with Team Gai stood quietly awaiting their punishment in her office.

Tsunade for her part was wondering why she hadn't thought to use fear more often to get her more unruly subordinates, namely Naruto, to act a bit more restrained and respectful. Truthfully, if it weren't for the fact that Hiashi threatened to all but declare war on the newer Haruno she would have kicked him out of her office and moved on to the other business of the day. She hadn't been so laid back yesterday. But upon hearing the full story from the _gennin_ she had relaxed. For Hiashi's actions she personally thought she would have removed more than just his _Byakugan_, a punishment she usually reserved for threatening her toad summoning teammate. Her eyes shifted once again. "Would you like to come down and join us?" Her tone was harsh and was clearly not a request as she fixated on the instigator of this entire debacle.

"Nah, I'm good right here." Daiki replied disinterestedly as he utilized his chakra to sit cross legged on the ceiling above the others.

"That wasn't a request." Kakashi looked up at the boy. "Get down here now."

Daiki turned. "Unless you became a thousand times more powerful in the last few days, don't bother me with hollow threats."

Sakura sighed. "Daiki, get down."

Daiki frowned at the girl a moment. "_Hai…_" He dropped to the ground, turning in mid-air, and sat on the floor. He shifted his gaze between Tsunade and Hiashi. His gaze lingered on the man for a moment before he turned back to the Hokage. "Just don't expect me to stand up because of him."

Tsunade reminded herself to thank _Kami_ that she normally only had Naruto to deal with. At least Naruto put humor into most of the things he said when he was being rude. She let the thought pass as she looked out over the other _gennin_ and their instructors. "I assume we all know why we're here so let's cut straight to the heart of the matter." She waited a moment to gauge their reactions. "The Council wants to charge you all with treason." She looked down at the seated Haruno. "And you with instigating an act of war."

Daiki shrugged. "You guys would lose that war."

Tsunade raised an eye brow to this, but continued. "For better or worse, no civilians were involved with the incident making it purely a shinobi incident and under my direct authority with no interference from the council." She watched as the room seemed to give a collective sigh of relief. "So tell me, why I shouldn't have you executed on the spot for attacking your fellow villagers?"

Kakashi grimaced behind his mask. "Laying it on a bit thick aren't we?" He thought silently.

Tsunade looked around the room. "Well?"

Naruto looked over at Sakura and smiled weakly before getting ready to take a step towards their leader. "It was my…"

"I can give you one hundred and sixty-two reasons." Daiki stated evenly. "And three of them are in the room right now." His eyes darted back towards Naruto.

Naruto caught the glance, suddenly wondering what Daiki knew that he didn't about their predicament. He nodded almost imperceptibly to the pink-banged man. "Hope you know what you're doing…" He thought silently.

Tsunade looked down at the boy. "Really? I'll settle for those three at the moment."

"One, that guy," Daiki pointed to Hiashi. "Is the biggest piece of _kuso_ I've ever met."

"You insolent…" Hiashi raged at the boy and would have tried to assault him if not for the timely intervention of both Asuma and Gai restraining him.

Daiki continued unfazed. "Said man has been trying his best to keep both his nephew and his own daughter ignorant of their history to increase his own power. Along with trying to break their spirits to his will along with the other members of the Branch Family."

Tsunade now understood the number of reasons Daiki mentioned must be the number of Hyuuga clan members still bound by the seal. "Compelling arguments, but you still violated the terms of our agreement."

"Not really." Daiki grinned. "As you've already heard, the _Byakugan_ and the Caged Bird Seal is as much my legacy as it is the Hyuuga's. Hiashi had perverted the gifts my ancestors had given to his, and in turn has forfeited his right to wield them." He turned to look the man in the eyes. "I will not see my Clan sullied by his actions against his own kin." He shrugged. "On top of that, the rest of the group was restrained by the Hyuuga guards once we entered the foyer. Only I myself actually injured one of their number, and the elder is fine now. I am the only one that can be punished as had I not been there we would not even be having this conversation."

Naruto wasn't sure if he should be thankful to Daiki, or strangle him. "He's getting us all out of trouble by taking the blame on himself." He thought to himself. "But he's making himself look to smart and noble doing it!"

"Very well then." Hiashi finally calmed enough that he was let go. "Then you will be the only one to be executed."

"Remember your place Hiashi-_sama_." Tsunade's tone warned more so than the words themselves.

Hiashi bowed his head, grudgingly. "_Hai, Hokage-sama_."

Tsunade returned to her seat and looked over her charges. "Given the evidence that's come to light, there is only one course of action I can take in this matter." She looked at Daiki. "You are to serve fifty hours of community service for your assault on the Hyuuga Elder."

"_Nani_?!" Hiashi raged again. "He has attacked my Clan! He attacked me and took my eyes!"

"Your eyes are still in your face." Daiki replied. "_Baka_." He stood slowly dusting off his pants as rose. "You know, fifty hours is a lot of time. Quite frankly, I can't be bothered with it." He flexed his hand as chakra began to circulate around it as he looked between Tsunade and Hiashi. "I wonder if you'll be willing to make a little deal?"

Hiashi glared at the boy. "What could you possibly offer me?"

Daiki shrugged. "I don't know, maybe your _Byakugan_?"

Tsunade and Hiashi both jerked at this.

"It's not just for my sentence though." Daiki continued. "Your eyes are worth far more than just that." He looked at the ceiling in thought. "What else could I ask for?" He looked into the room of gaping _gennin._ "Any suggestions Hinata-_san_?"

Hinata startled as her name was called. She had not expected to confront her father about the issues on her mind so soon, but gave silent thanks to Daiki that he had forced her to speak before fear had paralyzed her as it had so many times in the past. "_O-otou-sama_…As y-you can see the s-seal can be removed without k-killing the one it was placed on." She swallowed hard trying to control her stuttering. "Daiki-_san_ has already shown the procedures to Hokage-_sama_ as well as Sakura-_chan _and some of the more advanced med-nin at the hospital." She forced her hands to her sides and looked up at her father with the most determined gaze she felt she could muster. A part of her felt some regret at strong arming her father like this, she knew he would pay almost any price to have his _Byakugan_ returned to him. "I would like for all members of the Branch Family to be immediately informed of the procedure and give them the option of having the seal removed if they choose. Also, given original intentions for the seal, I would like the sealing tradition to forbidden unless in the case of criminal proceedings."

Hiashi glared at his daughter for her proposal. "You…" He took a step forward, and gasped in shock as the remaining eleven _gennin_ closed rank around Hinata to protect her from his backlash. Had he still had his blood limit, there would have been no trepidation. But now, especially with the spiky haired, blond, demon vessel at the very front and center radiating waves of killer intent at him, Hiashi knew fear in all it's dark glory. He stepped back, attempting to maintain the appearance that he was still in control.

Daiki nodded his head in satisfaction. "Yeah, that sounds like a better trade." He knew full well he had the Hyuuga leader over a barrel and, unlike Hinata, felt no remorse in using it to the fullest. "Unless anyone else has some suggestions?"

"I have one." Neji stepped forward. "I would like Hinata-_sama_ reinstated as the true heir of the Hyuuga Clan."

"No." The room turned to Hinata as she spoke. The young girl looked around the room at all of her friends. Her gaze lingering on the three she had talked about with Sakura. "If I…" She paused to shake her head. "When I become the heir, I want it to be because I have proven my strength and earned it." She looked down at the floor. "I have no desire to fight Hanabi-_imouto_ again. The very thought of fighting against her, of hurting my little sister, turns my stomach. _Demo_…" She paused. "There are things that must change in our clan and I can not trust them to be completed unless I see them through myself. Besides," She looked up and looked at her father.

The look sent shivers down the spines of the others present in the room. There was no malice, no killer intent, but all the same it scared everyone. Hinata's eyes were blank of emotion to her father aside from pity. Until this point, no one had really been sure how big of a break this incident had cause to the fragile relationship between father and daughter. It became all that much harder to watch as she smiled at him.

"I think, I've been far too lax in keeping my promise. I just hope…I'm not too late to make it up to Hanabi-_imouto_."

"Hinata…" Kurenai whispered softly. She shook her head and a sad smile tugged her lips. She was happy that Hinata had finally found a reason of her own to stand up for herself. Yet at the same moment, she was upset that it had taken an event such as this to bring about the change. She knew then and there that Hinata would never be the same, for better or worse would only be revealed with time. She looked around the room, noticing three sets of eyes on Hinata intently. "At least you won't be alone." She thought silently.

Naruto turned back slightly, and grit his teeth against the sadness he saw in Hinata's eyes. He was sorely tempted to run over and bash Hiashi across the face for putting one of his friends through something like this, but he knew that there were bigger things at stake here at the moment. Even if trying to wrap his head around everything that was being said made his head hurt. Forcing himself to turn forward again, glanced at Daiki and nodded.

Daiki caught the nod and subtly returned it. It occurred to him that that he and Naruto worked well together when it came down to it, and thought along very similar wavelengths in their reactions to others. A small shudder coursed through his body at the thought of being in anyway similar to the _ahou_. He'd deal with that later, for now the end game was in motion. "Well? What do you say?"

Hiashi turned, knowing that the statement was for him. He bit at the inside of his cheek to refrain from releasing the choice thoughts he wanted to spout at the moment. He could not remember the last time he had been this angry nor felt so helpless to defend himself. "Very well. Hokage-_sama_, on behalf of the Hyuuga Clan I would like to rescind and drop all charges against the accused. The plea he has placed before us is acceptable. With your permission I would like to see it carried out immediately."

Tsunade had to fight hard not to smirk. There was no love lost between herself and the Hyuuga Clan head, a fact that was only compounded by his actions over the last twenty-four hours. She would never be able to admit it openly, but she took great satisfaction in Hiashi being outmaneuvered by this group. She glanced between the two parties and finally nodded. "Very well. As Hiashi has dropped all charges I see no reason to issue punishment. Daiki, upon completion of your required tasks you will be free to go."

Daiki shrugged his shoulders. "Like you would have been able to stop me." He muttered under his breath. Beckoning Hiashi forward he brought up his chakra enveloped hand. "This is going to hurt, a lot." Staring Hiashi in the eye, he showed no remorse. "Think of it as penitence for your own crimes."

Hiashi frowned. "I am no stranger to pain boy. Finish what is begun."

"Like I said yesterday," Daiki grinned. "I'm just getting started." Bringing his hand up over Hiashi's face, the chakra pulsed brighter and faster. "Brace yourself."

Gai and Kurenai shielded their eyes as the chakra overflowed in a blinding flash of light.

Kakashi raised his forehead protector off his eye, hoping to learning something of how Daiki was capable of such things.

The gennin cringed as Hiashi screamed in excruciating pain. Hinata turned away quickly, a few tears spilling from her eyes. In her blind turn she collided with someone and cried into his jacket. She turned back again as she heard the scream begin to die down. The light also began to fade, revealing Hiashi slumped against Daiki for support.

Hiashi stood slowly and on shaky legs. He grimaced slightly as he opened his eyes, revealing their newly restored lavender-white coloring. A moment later the tell-tale sign of bulging veins became visible as he activated his _kekkai genkai_ and looked over the room. A minute later his features returned to normal and he turned to face Daiki once again. "Everything appears to be restored back to proper order."

"I keep my word." Daiki returned Hiashi's gaze evenly. "I expect you will do the same."

Hiashi grunted.

Tsunade shook her head slightly at the bravado exhibition taking place before her. "If that takes care of everything on this issue I would like move on to other business."

"_Hai, Hokage-sama_." Hiashi turned and bowed before heading for the door, but not before allowing a venomous glare to fall on Daiki, Neji, and Hinata.

"Oh, _baka_." Daiki called as Hiashi reached the door. "If I hear that you pull any crap like this again…" He turned, his eyes cold, hard steel. "I really will take your eyes from your head." He expression changed instantly as he smiled. "_Wakaremashitaka_?" He grinned wider as Hiashi slammed the door.

Tsunade rubbed her temples, already imagining how much grief Hiashi was going to cause her now that his blood was literally boiling in his veins. "Ok, now for the real reason you've all been summoned here."

Naruto turned, confusion clearly readable on his face. "The real reason? What are you talking about Tsunade-_obaa-chan_."

Tsunade sighed, knowing that this was going to be rough. "As I'm sure most of you have noticed, your Jounin-_sensei_ have stepped up your training over the past few months. The reason being that the Chunin Exams begin in a little over a month…"

"The Chunin Exams!" Naruto hollered excitedly.

"Sit down Naruto." Tsunade replied, somewhat sadly.

Ino looked over at Shikamaru. "But, how are we going to participate? Two of our teams don't have the right number of people."

Tsunade nodded, and readied herself for the backlash. "I'm aware of that Ino." She paused and took a deep breath. "Though the make up of the team is highly unorthodox, Sakura will be assigned to Team Ten for the purpose of this exam."

Sakura blinked. "I'm being reassigned? Why?"

"Yeah!" Naruto seconded quickly. "Why is it that…I'm being…singled…" His argument faded as he began to understand.

Tsunade nodded sadly. "Naruto, you already know the reasons. You will not be taking part in the exams this time. I'm sorry."

"Wait a minute!" Kiba took a step forward. "What reason?"

Neji nodded. "I'm curious to know why myself."

"As am I." Lee asserted.

"I can't tell you that." Tsunade replied quickly.

Daiki grunted. "Your course of action is flawed." Tsunade turned slightly in her seat, her slightly red as her anger began to rise. Daiki choose to ignore this as he continued. "Naruto was an unknown at the previous tournament. Yet he was able to defeat the elite genius of the Hyuuga Clan, and then the crazed ninja _Sabaku no Garra_ when even the elite genius of the Uchiha Clan could not." He paused as he heard some of the gennin murmuring amongst themselves. "Naruto is going to be looked for this time around. He's going to be a major player in this exam, he more-so than anyone else in this room needs to go." He glanced over at the Hokage. "You know as well as I do what will be implied should he not attend."

"I really hate this kid now." Tsunade thought silently as she had to admit there was far to much truth to Daiki's statement. "It does not change the fact that there are still not enough people to complete the teams." She finally replied aloud.

"Of course there are." Daiki replied with a grin.

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, nervous as to where this conversations was going. She decided to test the waters in the least likely avenue first. "Are you offering your services to the Leaf?"

Daiki gave a semi-amused snort. "Though I would love to assist Sakura-_sama_ in wiping out the competition, that situation is not realistic at this point. Besides, she doesn't need my help to clean everyone else out."

The other gennin, with the exception of Choji, turned to stare at the now blushing Sakura.

"Hold on, why can't you join Naruto and Sakura on a team?" Shikamaru jumped at the chance to try and glean some new information from Daiki.

"I would think that would be rather obvious for a master tactician for yourself. I can't very well be on a team for Leaf…" He looked over at Shikamaru, grinning to let the chunin know he was on to the little game. "If my own team is to enter the exams ourselves."

"Your team?" Kakashi asked, concerned over the boy's skill level. "You will be going as a Jounin-_sensei_?"

Daiki seemed to stiffen slightly at the question. "No." The reply was soft and almost unheard before he found his voice again. "I will be entering along with my two gennin teammates. They are already on route to the exam site, I will meet them there."

Shikamaru didn't let his expression change, but he saw the momentary change in Daiki's attitude. Something about the mention of his Jounin-_sensei_ had clearly hit a chord. He'd have to remember that later.

"So then, where are these other team mates going to come from?" Ten-Ten asked.

"Your Hokage already has one selected." Daiki looked over the room before resting on the disguised older woman. "Isn't that right?"

Tsunade clenched her teeth. "How did you know about that?"

"Did you really think I would know about Konoha's Leaves, and not know about it's…Roots?" Daiki paused at the last word, letting it drive home just how much he knew. "I think his skills would compliment Sakura-_sama_ and _ahou_ nicely."

Tsunade nodded. She had already reconciled the facts in her mind, this really was the only viable course of action to defend all fronts. "I'll send notice to him immediately, along with the Rookie of the Year for the latest graduates. They really are the best candidates for the testing anyway." Standing and rounding her desk she looked out over the teams. "It is approximately a five week trip to the exam site. Make your preparations, you leave tomorrow morning. Remember that you represent _Konohagakure_ not only in the exams but in all your actions. Make us proud, and good luck. Dismissed."

Naruto turned to Kakashi as they all began to leave the Hokage's office. "Why is it a five week trip? Aren't the chunin exams given here?"

Kakashi felt a slight pang of disappointment that his student was still so clueless about the basics of the shinobi world. "No Naruto, just the last set of exams were held here. The Chunin Exams, as well as the Jounin Exams, are rotated between the villages so as to allow each village a chance of territorial advantage."

"So then, we had an advantage over the other villages last time, and we didn't even know about it?" Kiba had been listening as they went down the stairs. "So now we'll have to be even more on top of our game than we were last time." He scratched the back of his head, visibly annoyed.

"Where are the exams taking place this time Kakashi-_sensei_?" Sakura asked, hoping it was somewhere that she had read about during the academy days.

"The exams are in _Kumogakure_." Replied a soft voice from behind them.

Naruto turned and saw Hinata standing alone a few stairs above the others. Her eyes were on the floor and he could see she was shaking slightly. Memories from his conversation with Neji began to come back to him from the back of his mind. Naruto couldn't remember all of the details, but something had happened between the Hyuuga and Cloud. Whatever it was he couldn't remember, she clearly did and it upset her. So he did what he always did, try to play things off. "Wow, Hinata's already got the competition scoped out." He smiled warmly at her. "Maybe you can help me prepare later?"

Hinata's head jerked up so fast she feared she might have broken her neck. She also felt her face begin to burn and knew she must be blushing fiercely. "I…I don't know that m-much about Cloud, but I would be happy to s-share what I do know with you Naruto-_kun_."

Kurenai smiled. She knew about the attempted kidnapping. Not only had Sandaime-_sama_ told her when Kurenai about the event when she became Hinata's Sensei, but Hinata herself had talked with her at length about it. Even the nightmares that still plagued her from time to time, a detail she had revealed to no one else. She was glad to see that Naruto was able to get her to look at the event in a different perspective, even if neither of the children were aware of that.

Asuma glanced sideways and saw that Shikamaru was still focused on Daiki. Shikamaru wouldn't actually look at the other boy, but Asuma knew how Shikamaru would operate. The lazy chunin could gather information without people being any the wiser. Asuma reached the street outside and lit his cigarette. He knew that if any one would be able to find the proverbial chink in the other boy's armor, Shikamaru would be the one to do it.

Sakura turned as she saw Daiki stop in the middle of the road and looked up into the sky. "What's wrong?"

"I'm thinking about some of the things I said." Daiki looked down again and turned to Hinata and Neji. "I don't get the feeling I'll be to terribly welcome at your home any more."

Neji nodded slightly. "Perhaps not, but you are still technically confined to our care. Even if Hiashi-_sama_ does not like the situation, he will allow you to remain because of the Hokage's orders."

Daiki nodded. "Still…"

Hinata turned slightly, she had not seen that expression on Daiki since the previous morning when he had been cutting himself. Something was deeply troubling him. "Daiki-_san_?"

Daiki startled, as though pulled from a deep thought, but quickly hid that away. "Hinata-_san_? Come here."

The girl walked forward to the boy, only to be flicked lightly in the forehead by Daiki as she approached. She startled back slightly confused.

"You jerk!" Kiba moved to take a step forward. "Why'd you…" He stopped as he felt Hinata raise an arm to block his way.

"What have I told you?" Daiki replied with a smile.

Hinata wondered how many times she had seen that look on her own face. A forced smile to try and make everyone think everything was fine. It hurt to see it on someone who had helped her so much and know there was nothing she could do to return the kindness. "Not to call you -_san_. I'm sorry."

"It's all right." He turned his back to the group and walked a few steps away. "Hinata-_san_, Neji-_san_, I need to take care of some things before tomorrow. I'm wondering if you two will allow me to do that in private."

Neji frowned, Daiki was still supposed to be under constant surveillance even if it was just for show.

"Rather," Daiki continued. "There is something I need to do with Sakura-_sama's_ assistance."

Kakashi looked up from his book at this. Memories of the conversation at the hospital came to mind quickly.

"My help?" Sakura asked curiously. "What could I help you with?"

Daiki continued to look out into the street. "I'd…rather discuss that in private Sakura-_sama_."

The others looked between one another all seeming to ask the same silent question.

It was Hinata who finally stepped forward. "Neji-_onii-san_ or I will come to look for you later." It was the least she could do after everything Daiki had done for her.

Daiki turned and bowed his head slightly. "_Domo_."

Sakura quickly said her goodbyes to her friends and everyone began to head their separate ways. She walked next to her cousin at a slow pace with Kakashi and Naruto following behind them. Sakura resisted the urge to frown, knowing that Daiki would not start talking until the two had left.

"You're not going to leave are you?" Daiki stated casually.

"There's no way I'm leaving you alone with Sakura-_chan_ with how weird you've been acting." Naruto folded his hands behind his head and kept walking, keeping an eye on the boy.

"I just happen to be going in the same direction." Kakashi didn't look up from his book, but he saw the three sideways looks directed his way. Though they didn't say anything, he could practically hear them silently screaming "_Uso!"_ at him.

Daiki grunted. "Whatever."

Sakura sighed, but hid it from the others. "So, what was it you wanted my help with?"

They walked a few minutes more until they stopped in front of a small grocery store. Daiki looked into the store and placed his hands in his pockets. "I said some things in the office. And I'm feeling like quite the hypocrite now."

Sakura blinked, unsure of what to say.

"What are you talking about?" Naruto griped angrily. "You're nothing like Hinata's dad."

"Not quite so extreme and at the same time even more so. I have more in common with him than I care to admit." Daiki looked up at the sky again. "I have spurned my own Clan, had events gone differently when we first met I would have likely laid waste to my own kin." He looked down at the ground and smiled sadly. "Everything I criticized Hyuuga for I have done and planed worse."

"But you've…" Sakura began.

"I don't want to be that person." Daiki followed, to deep in his thought to hear Sakura try to say otherwise. "That's why I'm hoping you will help me Sakura-_sama_." Walking in to the store he began to look at the various gift baskets on display. "I would like to meet with my…my aunt and uncle. If that's all right with you."

Sakura smiled, she'd been trying for a good long while to get him to this point. She walked up toward the gift baskets and looked over them carefully. "Mom really likes pears, and Dad likes oranges." She pulled a basket from the display and handed it to Daiki. "I think this will do well."

Daiki smiled, but it was different. Soft, perhaps slightly sad, but genuine. "_Arigatougozaimasu._"

Naruto watched from a respectable distance as Daiki and Sakura talked quietly and paid for the large fruit basket. He looked over at his sensei, and was shocked to see Kakashi's nose wasn't buried in is little orange book. He walked slowly behind the two cousins as they left the store and began to walk towards the Haruno household. It irked him to see Sakura smile at Daiki the way she did. He knew it was unfounded, but it still bothered him. Still, it made Sakura happy so he remained quiet. A few quick blocks later he stood on the street with Kakashi watching the elder generation of Haruno meeting the younger. He declined the offer to join them for tea, saying it was better for them to be able to talk in private. Though if that was his true reasoning, even Naruto wasn't sure. He started to walk as the door shut slowly. "_Ne, Kakashi-sensei_?"

Kakashi looked up from his reading, his eye shifting slightly in the boy's direction. "Yeah?"

"You're coming on the trip for the exam's right?"

Kakashi nodded. He studied his student's face discreetly, and was surprised to see a slight trace of worry. He wondered if the recent lifting of his ban from leaving the village, and the exposure to Akatsuki was on his mind now. In an instant however, Naruto had steeled his expression so well that the Jounin almost thought he had imagined it.

"I've been training with Daiki for a while now, but if he's going to be entering the exam…" Naruto paused. "We know each other's moves pretty well, but I'm sure he's still got some _jutsus_ hidden away. You think we could train along the way to Cloud? Maybe learn a few new _jutsu_ of my own?"

Though it was hidden behind his mask, Kakashi smiled. "Just don't pester me to learn _Chidori_ like you did last time."

Naruto grinned and made a slight scoffing noise. "I don't need to learn _Chidori_ Kakashi-_sensei_. I already have the _Rasengan_."

Kakashi raised his visible eyebrow at this statement.

Naruto continued to walk forward. "I don't have the right skill set for _Chidori_ anyway. I'll let Sasuke-_teme_ have that one, but you have to teach me everything else!"

Kakashi laughed lightly as they continued to walk down the street. The way Naruto spoke, sometimes so experienced and mature, sometimes childlike. Kakashi wondered just how much of Naruto's open personality was genuine, and how much he played up to gain attention from others. The jounin got the sense that meeting Daiki had, for better or worse, forced Naruto to mature a bit. If all these assumptions proved to be correct…Kakashi smiled as he envisioned what kind of shinobi Naruto could become. "All right Naruto. I'll teach you as much as I can during our hike. For now go home and pack. We'll be leaving early tomorrow morning."

"Right!" Naruto nodded just before Kakashi vanished into a burst of smoke. Leaping up to the roof of the nearest building, Naruto decided to make a little side trip first. He stood atop the Hokage monument moments later and stared out at the forests and the land beyond. "I'm coming for you. I'm going to get you back. For everyone." He brought his hand up and slowly closed his fist, as though grabbing something only he could see. "Sasuke."

OOOOO

"_Shishi Rendan_!" Sasuke leapt back as he delivered the final blow into his sparring partner burying him into the floor. He quickly moved into a middle guard back stance and waited for the next opponent. He didn't have to wait long as another boy rushed in from the left. Sasuke sidestepped and grabbed the wrist as it passed his chest and twisted it roughly before bringing his right knee up into the man's chest. As the man toppled over Sasuke spun and delivered an inner crescent kick that caught the victim on both the upstroke as well as the more powerful down stroke. Landing into a front stance Sasuke continued the spin to sweep the next two assailants with his back leg. As the fell he dashed between them and delivered simultaneous elbow strikes to the back of each attacker's head. He stood slowly as he heard the bodies fall to the ground with dull thuds. A moment later the lights in the underground complex switched on.

"You become stronger everyday." Orochimaru looked over the room of roughly two hundred prone bodies on the training floor with Sasuke standing at the middle of the carnage. "You still refuse to kill."

"Killing them gains me nothing." Sasuke replied calmly as he made his way though the fallen. "By leaving them alive they will train harder in the hopes of beating me next time. I find there are no challenges amongst their ranks any longer. Even Kabuto no longer challenges me as he once did. I can only hope that one will become strong enough to challenge me in the future." He picked up a towel that he had placed on the side of the room and wiped his face and arms. "Besides, any fool can twist a kunai though flesh. Killing takes no skill. Disabling them takes more skill and control, especially without the use of the _Sharingan_."

Orochimaru laughed lightly. "So, you do not find my subordinates challenging anymore. Perhaps you would prefer to train against me?"

Sasuke smirked at the offer. "I would. How better to see how far I've truly progressed?" In truth he knew that he was not yet a match for the Sannin, but he wasn't about to admit that. Better to allow the snake summoner think he believed himself to be invincible.

Orochimaru chuckled. "Another day then." He turned and motioned for Sasuke to follow after him. They walked the dimly lit and moldy hallways in complete silence for some time before stopping over the slave pens. "As you can see I am running low on suitable subjects for my works."

"That is no concern of mine." Sasuke replied quickly. "Our agreement was you will train me to be strong enough to defeat Itachi, and in return you get my body to house your mind." The very thought would have made Sasuke's skin crawl if he had any intention of honoring that agreement. "Your other works mean nothing to me."

"Oh? I would think you see it otherwise after what you just said Sasuke-_kun_." Orochimaru continued with a grin. "I will be sending Kabuto and a few of my troops out to collect more subjects very soon."

"What does this have to do with me?" Sasuke was getting annoyed now.

Orochimaru turned and began to walk away. "I believe it would be good for you to go and select a few subjects that you would believe would make beneficial training partners for you."

Sasuke again found himself resisting the urge to shiver in disgust. It was true he was willing to sacrifice anything of himself to gain his revenge on Itachi, but the thought of sacrificing others to achieve his goals sickened him. He could not risk exposing that thought however if this was some form of test by Orochimaru. "Very well, if you believe it will help my training. Where are we heading and when do we depart?"

Orochimaru smiled. "You will beheading into Lightening Country for this culling. I have heard that the living conditions in that region produce subjects that are…" He licked his lips in anticipation. "Quite durable."

For the countless millionth time, Sasuke considered himself fortunate that the _dobe_ and his friends had delayed him long enough that Orochimaru had been forced to transfer into another body. Had he come here unopposed, all his planning would be for nothing. Should he ever meet Naruto again, he'd have to find some way to honor that debt. "We will be heading to Hidden Village of the Clouds then. The Chunin exams should provide an excellent cover for us to infiltrate and operate unopposed."

"Yessss." Orochimaru hissed slightly as his excitement started to get the better of him. "You will leave with Kabuto tomorrow morning. Kabuto already has his team selected. You may join them or select a team of your own to work in conjunction."

Sasuke thought for a moment. With the Chunin Exams active, there was a good chance that Konoha would send representatives. If he was discovered they would try to apprehend him. "I will take a team of my own, I will also need a disguise in case there are Leaf-nin present." He stopped and bowed. "With your permission Orochimaru-_sama_, I will go and gather my team."

Orochimaru nodded. "Very well." He waited until Sasuke neared the corner. "And Sasuke-_kun_, if you have the chance, finish what you started before you came here."

Sasuke stopped for a moment as the image of Naruto's deathly pale face at the waterfall played before his eyes. He quickly dismissed it. "_Hai, Orochimaru-sama_."

OOOOO

Rider: Good? Bad? Otherwise? If you have a moment, please leave a little something to tell me what you think.

Wraiths: Do I really have to do this?

Rider: Yes.

Wraiths: (grumbling, assumes Haseo's pose) Come on…Come on…I'm right here. SKEITH! (Looks down and pales)

Star: (putting her digicam away) YouTube here we come! (runs away)

Wraiths: (horrified look on his face, followed by utter defeat) Gimme my game. (takes game walks away)

Rider: It was so worth it. 'Till the next, live well all.


	11. New Recruits, Old Memories

Rider: Hi there everybody. Sorry for the delay, I have been super busy as of late and it cut down on my writing time. I don't know if I've said this already somewhere, but I think I have more free time during the school year than I do over the summer. Kind of sad really…

Star: Stop talking so I can read the story!

Rider: (glares at star) Ok then, in a moment though. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, and those of you who are reading silently in the background. To the anonymous reader "a", I wish to try and clarify a few things. I know Hiashi is no pushover. Daiki didn't beat Hiashi so much as blindside him with a surprise attack. As I've said before it will have more explanation in later chapters. As for character development…um, you make it sound like the story is ended, which it's not. As for Daiki being all knowing and omnipotent, again, that will be explained later. I'd say more, but it will give away too much I fear.

Wraiths: Oh my god! Stop talking!

Rider: (glares) I really don't like you two right now…Ok, on with the show! (pulls a lever raising a curtain)

Star: Where'd that come from?

OOOOO

Disclaimer: Hey! Guess what I'm going to say next. I'll give you three guesses and the first two don't count. Yes! You're correct! I don't own Naruto! Your prize? Er, you…get to read my story?

Spoiler warning: Same as last time. If you don't know of Team Seven's Adjusted line up, the new guy is here.

OOOOO

A Shinobi's Decision

Chapter Eleven: New Recruits, Old Memories

Naruto tossed and turned in his bed, far too excited to go to sleep. Not only had Tsunade-_obaa-chan_ lifted his 'imprisonment' within the village, but Kakashi would be training him for the Chunin Exams. Naruto rolled over again and stared at his ceiling for a moment. The Chunin Exams, he could not wait to prove how strong he had become. While he would have preferred to have some time training with Ero-sennin just to make sure, he was certain that his training with Daiki would pay off. He could practically feel that tactical vest on him already. Sitting up, he looked out the window to the faint red-orange light beginning to break through the darkness.

"Guess I'm not going to get any sleep tonight after all." He muttered quietly as he glanced at his alarm clock that read 6:07. He debated about leaving the alarm on to go off everyday while he was gone to annoy his neighbors, self preservation for his belongings won out as he flipped the switch. Climbing out of bed he threw his walrus sleeping cap on to the bed and made his way to the bathroom where he began adjusting the water for his shower. He had learned from previous missions that bathing opportunities were not always readily available and always showered before long excursions to buy as much time as possible. He had started this ritual some time ago deciding that Sakura-_chan_ would never go out with him if he reeked of BO. Even with the way events had gone and the knowledge he would never have that chance, he continued the practice. Testing the water once again, he stripped and entered the shower.

A short time later he dried himself off and began to dress, leaving the jacket off for the time being. He moved to the stove and put up a kettle of water to boil for his morning cup of ramen. As he waited he found himself daydreaming again. He had often imagined what it would be like for him to come out of the shower, dressed and ready to face the day, to find Sakura sitting at his table with her morning cup of tea and two waiting cups of ramen for them. It was stupid, selfish, and chauvinistic, but he couldn't help the way his unconscious mind and his heart conspired against him.

Taking the boiling water from the stove and pouring it into the insulated cup he waited for the noodles to soften. "It wouldn't even have to be fresh made ramen." Naruto murmured, still half in a daze. "I wouldn't make Sakura-_chan_ go through all the trouble. Instant would be fine, just to have breakfast with her every morning." He sat down and looked out the window as he rested his head in his hands. "Maybe when we get Sasuke-_teme_ back all three of us can have breakfast together." He smiled at the idea. "Sasuke-_teme_ would probably say he has more important things to do though…but with Sakura-chan and I both teamed up we could probably make him sit through the meal." He pulled the top from his ramen and broke his chopsticks as he began to eat. "Yeah, that would be fun."

"Oi! Naruto!"

Naruto jumped, nearly spilling his beloved food stuffs, at the sound of a certain pink haired kunoichi's voice. He ran to the door and opened it wide. "Sakura-_chan_? What are you doing here?"

Sakura held up a carryout box with the familiar logo of Ichiraku's ramen stand. "A girl can't bring her teammate some breakfast?"

Naruto looked around for a moment and pulled at his cheek. "Nope…not dreaming."

Sakura stuck her tongue out at him playfully. "Kakashi-sensei was afraid that you'd oversleep and miss our meeting time, so I said I'd stop by to get you." She smiled at him again as she kicked off her shoes and entered into Naruto's kitchen. "Ichiraku was just opening up as I passed so…" She set the two bowls on the table and shrugged her shoulders. "You have any tea?"

Naruto nodded, still somewhat dazed by Sakura's action, and pulled some green tea from his cabinet. He sniffed it experimentally, making sure it hadn't gone moldy since he'd last used it. He poured some of the still hot water from the kettle into a mug and let the tea brew. A few moments later he handed Sakura the drink.

"Thanks." She sat and waited for Naruto to join her at the table before she began her meal. "So? Did you get any sleep at all?"

Naruto shook his head. "Not a wink. I was too excited about starting our trip." He looked down at the ramen and back at Sakura. Something was bothering her, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He held the chopsticks absently as he continued to study Sakura discretely. "How about you?"

"None. Not even a few minutes." She continued to smile as she ate. "I was…I guess I'm nervous."

Naruto slowly took up the first mouthful of noodles. "But, you're stronger now that ever. You're going to do great." He smiled at her warmly finally understanding what it was that was getting to him. Sakura was forcing her smile, in the same fashion he used to. "You have nothing to worry about."

Sakura's smile faded a bit. "But last time, I was so useless. You…and Sasuke-_kun_…I relied on the both of you so much at the last exam."

"Shikamaru told me about how you defended Sasuke and I." Naruto let one of his rare genuine smiles through to Sakura. "Without you we wouldn't have even made it to the prelims. You weren't useless at all." His smile shifted, becoming playful. "And like I said, you've become much stronger. To be honest, I'm torn."

"Torn?" Sakura questioned as she paused lifting her bowl to her mouth. "About what?"

"On one hand, I want to face you in the finals to see how strong we've both become."

Sakura blushed brightly. Just the other day she had told Hinata how much Naruto respected strength, now he was telling her that he wanted to fight her one on one. "And on the other hand?"

Naruto grinned. "I'm afraid to face you cause I think you might beat me really bad with how much you've grown."

Sakura wasn't sure, but she thought she had somehow crossed into Hinata's territory of blushing. "I…I don't think I've gotten that strong but…" She looked down, but her eyes darted up a little bit, giving her a coy and playful look. "I really want to fight against you too…"

Naruto swallowed hard. He had wanted to cheer Sakura up, but she looked so unbelievably cute to him at the moment he thought his heart would burst from his chest. "Sakura…I…"

Sakura glanced at the clock by Naruto's bed. "It's already 7:30! We're going to be late!" She lifted the ramen bowl to her lips and finished the meal with enough speed that she almost beat Naruto, almost. "Come on! We have to go!"

Naruto grabbed his travel pack, thankful he'd remembered to pack last night, and raced out the door after Sakura. He laughed lightly as he trailed a step behind her as they jumped the rooftops. "Kakashi-sensei sent you to get me and we still almost ended up missing the meeting time."

"Shut up Naruto!"

He smiled despite the verbal reproach, happy that Sakura was back to her normal self. They landed at the north gate a few minutes later to see that most of the others were already there. "Hey guys!"

"_Ohaiyo Naruto-kun_!" Lee responded energetically, seemingly oblivious to the early hour.

Naruto turned as a puff of smoke signaled a new arrival. "Kakashi-_sensei_! I'm ready to start my training! What's first!"

Kakashi blinked. "_Ano_…aren't you going to go through the usual lateness thing?"

Naruto blinked. "But, you're not late."

Kakashi blinked and turned to his fellow Jounin. "Asuma?"

Asuma grinned and took a drag of his cigarette. "Sorry Kakashi, _Godaime-sama's_ orders. We told you two hours earlier than the actual meeting time."

"_Maa maa_, you guys are getting crafty aren't you?" Kakashi scratched the back of his head as he admitted his defeat. "So I actually beat Kurenai here?"

Kiba nodded. "Sensei said she was going to meet Hinata and Neji at the Hyuuga compound before coming here."

Naruto turned to Choji. "So, who's this new teammate of yours?"

Ino shook her head. "We haven't seen the kid yet. How about yours?"

Sakura shook her head. "Same situation with us." She continued to look around. "I guess Daiki is coming with the others?"

Shino lifted his hand and pointed towards the far end of the road. It seemed that was explanation enough as he did not say anything to elaborate.

Naruto blinked as he saw the approaching figures. "They have an extra person with them…" He turned to Sakura. "You don't think that maybe our new teammate is…"

Sakura shook her head. "I don't know. But, considering Sasuke-_kun's_ skill set it is entirely possible that Tsunade-_shisho_ would…"

"A good assessment Sakura." Kakashi nodded as he pulled out his little orange book. "But ultimately wrong in this case."

Naruto scratched his head. "Then that means…" He watched as the shorter girl of Kurenai's group marched over to Asuma.

"Hyuuga Hanabi, to be temporarily assigned to Team Ten." The young heiress supplied coolly.

Ino looked over at Hanabi, then to her sensei. "You're kidding right? I mean, yeah she's a Hyuuga and all, but she's just a kid. She's not ready for the…" She twisted to the side and caught the kunai that rushed toward her face.

Hanabi hadn't changed her stance, aside from one arm being outstretched, from where she faced Asuma. "Don't underestimate my skills. My marks put that traitorous Uchiha's to shame." She turned and glared at Ino. "Don't get in my way."

"You little…" Ino stormed over to the girl where a most intense cat fight began.

Choji pulled a bag of chips from his pack and began to eat as he watch the two kunoichi. "She's even scarier than Ino…" He muttered to himself.

Asuma laughed at the comment despite himself. "You guys should have an interesting exam."

Naruto looked over at Hinata and Neji, then at Hanabi. He pulled Kakashi's arm motioned for the taller man to bend down. "_Ne_, Kakashi-sensei? I know something happened between the Hyuuga's and the Village of Hidden Cloud, is it really a good thing that three of their clan is going?"

Kakashi smiled behind his mask. Naruto was growing despite himself. "Well, I really don't know Naruto. But maybe you should keep your eyes open just to be extra safe. _Ne_?"

Naruto nodded. "_Wakata-dattebayo_." He looked around. "Everyone's here now except our mysterious new teammate? Where the hell is this guy? If he makes us late I'm going to…"

"I'm right behind you."

Naruto jumped into the air and landed in Kakashi's arms. "Where the hell did you come from?!" He looked over the new boy for a moment. "You're even more depressing looking than Sasuke-_teme_ and you dress like someone out of one of Ino's magazines. Are you really a ninja?"

"Given your bright orange jumpsuit, you should really be careful of making rash judgments Naruto-_kun_." Replied the boy.

Kakashi then decided to unceremoniously drop Naruto to the ground, eliciting a loud laugh from Daiki across the yard. The silver haired jounin actually looked up from his book at the younger man. "I see, you must be Sai. I've heard many things about you."

Sai nodded. "As I have about you, Sharingan Kakashi." He smiled, a sad and hollow looking image. "I don't know why, but Danzo-_sama_ asked me to tell you hello."

Kakashi's eye narrowed. "I see."

Feeling the tension in the air, Kurenai decided to step in. "Now that we're all here, we should head out. We have a lot of ground to cover before nightfall."

Kakashi nodded. "We'll start out on the road and take to the trees later." He saw the confused looks of the gennin and decided to elaborate. "In case Tsunade-_sama_ has any last minute update information to send to us. It wouldn't do to be too far away." He neglected to mention that said information would be about the possible ambush rather than the exams themselves. Hoisting his pack he began to walk toward the gate, his gaze already back in his book. The other students looked around and followed after their Jounin-sensei. In moments four Jounin, one chunin, and twelve gennin were on their way to Lightning Country.

"_Oi_, Sharingan." Daiki called. "That volume thirty-six?"

Kakashi nodded as his eye darted to the side at his subordinate's cousin. "Why?"

"What chapter you on?"

"Fourteen…" Kakashi's senses screamed danger at him, though he could not lock down why.

"Oh…" Daiki nodded and continued to walk.

Kakashi blinked. "I should let this go. I should really let this go…" He thought to himself silently. His curiosity got the better of him however. "Why do you ask?" He at last questioned aloud.

Daiki shrugged. "No reason, I was just curious to see if you were up to the part about Michiko-chan's pregnancy scare or her…"

Kakashi clapped his hands over his ears. "You have to give spoiler warnings about stuff like that! La la la! I can't hear you!"

The other jounin sweat dropped as they saw their colleague reduced to the antics of a four-year old.

Daiki smiled and kept walking.

"Daiki? How did you know about that?" Sakura asked as she began to loom over him, her fist growing terrifyingly large.

"That?" Daiki pointed a thumb to where Kakashi was still dancing around in circles muttering gibberish. "I finished thirty-six last week."

"_Daiki no hentai_!" Sakura pounded Daiki into the ground, or at least she thought she did until she saw him a few feet to the left.

"I am not a pervert." He replied calmly. "At least no more so than anyone else here." He laughed as everyone in the surrounding area turned venomous stares at him. "What? It's true. With all the morals that Shinobi break on a regular basis, is a healthy libido really that big of an issue?"

Ino walked over and grabbed Daiki by the collar of his shirt. "I am not a pervert! You take that back right now!"

"Oh please, you're the easiest to spot blondie." Daiki replied as he easily broke out of Ino's grip.

Ino turned red in the face. "I am not!"

For a moment Daiki considered proving just how wrong that statement was, but shrugged instead. "Whatever."

Shikamaru sighed and continued to walk. "Troublesome…" Was his only response as he began to work on why he was being sent to the Chunin exams. He already had the rank, and he very much doubted that Tsunade would send him along simply for moral support when the village was short handed of capable shinobi. That left two options. The first was obvious, he was to observe Daiki and find a weakness they could use against him if it came to that. The second, and much more troublesome to Shikamaru, was that there was something much bigger going on that no one had been told about.

Hinata looked over to where her sister walked in close step to Asuma before her pale eyes fell to the ground again. It was bad enough she had to face her own fears of Kumogakure, but to have Hanabi to contend with too was an added pressure she didn't think she could handle at the moment.

Ten-Ten glanced sidelong at Neji. She may not have had his _doujutsu_, but she could read his body language well enough after being on his team for almost a two years. "Something on your mind?"

"It's nothing." Neji replied a little to fast.

"Meaning something happened with the Hyuuga politics." Ten-Ten translated to herself. She remembered from other times how he reacted, this was the most likely case. "Let me guess." She whispered quietly to him. "Hiashi wants you to make sure that Hinata and Hanabi don't embarrass the clan at the exams?"

Neji frowned. "I wish we were still at a place where that was our only concern." He glanced over at Kurenai and Asuma before returning his gaze forward, clearly indicating he would not go anymore into the topic.

Ten-Ten sighed. "You shouldn't do that you know. Teammates and friends need to be able to trust one another. You make it hard to do that when you keep secrets like this." She quickened her pace, leaving Neji to brood by himself.

"Naruto-_kun_?" Lee walked up quickly and pulled the blonde ninja slightly away from the group. "In preparations for the exams I have increased my weights again. I was wondering if you might want the second set I made?"

Naruto blinked for a moment. He still wore the old weights, but he barely noticed them now. "Sure, if you're not going to be using them but…" He paused a moment as he looked at Lee. "We may end up fighting each other during the exams, you sure you want to give me something that's going to make me stronger?"

Lee smiled. "Your youth is as honest as always Naruto-_kun_! That is exactly why I wish to give you these weights!"

Naruto frowned as Lee started babbling about youth again. "Huh?"

"I was not able to fight you at the last exam." Lee replied as he handed Naruto the weights, and noticed that Naruto held them with relative ease. He smiled slightly. "I am hoping that I will have that chance at this exam." He flashed a big thumbs up to Naruto. "I want us to both be at our best if that should happen!"

Naruto grinned. "Yeah, me too. I'll start using them right away." Watching as Lee ran over to bother Neji about something, Naruto turned to his new teammate. "So…what are your skills like?"

Sai continued to walk forward without facing Naruto. "I am proficient in my skills. You do not need to worry about me."

"That's not what I meant!" Naruto growled. "Sakura-_chan_ and I don't know you! How can we be a team if we know nothing about you!"

Sai turned and gave Naruto another fake smile. "You are right Naruto, but my assignment to this team is temporary at best. And these exams carry far more weight for you and Sakura than they do for me."

Naruto's frown deepened. "I really don't like that answer…"

Sai continued to smile. "You don't have to worry Naruto, I will do everything in my ability to support you and Sakura through the exams."

Naruto looked Sai over once more before pulling away. "That guy's weird." He muttered as he moved next to Kakashi.

The Jounin laughed lightly. "Be nice to your new teammate Naruto."

Naruto continued to walk. "Are we going to train with Sakura-_chan_ too?"

Kakashi nodded. "I would think that would be best, it's been a while since you worked on team related skills."

Naruto nodded. "I've been thinking recently too, about some things I want to try to learn…"

Kakashi looked up from his book. "Oh, like what?"

Naruto looked over at Daiki, who was still arguing with Ino, and now seemingly Kiba and Ten-Ten as well. "Well, I was thinking that…"

Kakashi caught where Naruto was staring and shook his head. "Maybe we should discuss this during our training later. In private."

Sai continued to walk quietly along the road waiting until Daiki pulled away from the others. Sai moved up next to the other boy, almost shoulder to shoulder with him, as he matched his pace. "I have heard reports that you were able to quiet easily defeat Kakashi." He kept his voice low.

Daiki's eyes shifted slightly toward the boy. "What of it?"

"It is quite an impressive feat for a _gennin_." Sai continued to look out to the road ahead. "It has gained you a fair amount of attention."

"So?" Daiki replied, his voice lowering slightly.

"I have also been told that you wish to destroy the Leaf."

Daiki shrugged just enough for Sai to see, but not raise the attention of the others. "So far, you haven't said anything that isn't public knowledge."

Sai again forced a hollow smile. "I suppose I haven't." His smile faded. "Do you still intend to do so?"

Daiki scratched his face. "Haven't decided yet, guess it's on hold for the moment."

"I see." Sai nodded. "If you should decide to carry out your plan, I have been ordered to tell you to speak with Danzo-_sama_."

"_Naze_?"

"Danzo-_sama_ believes that Konoha has become weak and corrupted, a sentiment he believes you share. He wishes to rebuild and reorder Konoha to correct this." Daiki continued. "However…"

"One can not rebuild what is not openly seen as broken." Daiki replied. "A partnership then? He assists me in destroying Konoha for my revenge, and he gets to rebuild and rule as Hokage?"

"I believe that is what he has in mind." Sai nodded.

Daiki scratched at his chin. "Tempting, but…no."

Sai tilted his head, puzzled.

"When I take Konoha to it's knees, I will do it on my own terms." He let a concentrated burst of killer intent strike out at Sai alone, causing the boy to fall out of step a moment before he recovered. "And when I do, I will not leave behind anything enough to begin rebuilding." He moved away from the other shinobi with a smile on his face. He placed himself at about roughly the center of the group and began to hum.

Kiba and Akamaru were the first to notice the tune. "Hey, I know that song." The inu-nin began to hum along as he tried to remember the words.

Naruto was next. "I've heard this on the radio at Ichiraku's."

Sakura nodded. "Me too."

Daiki continued to smiled as the others all started to voice their knowledge of the song, except for Neji, Sai, Shino, and Hanabi. His voice rose and began to sing. "_Sekaijuu hora waratteru sora, miagete saa tachiagatte…_"

The others lifted their heads. "Oh Yeah! Oh yeah! Oh yeah!"

Naruto picked up the next verse. "_Seikaijuu hora kawatteku minna ganbatte so tachiagatte._"

Again the others called out in reply. People randomly began taking up the lead as the verses as they continued to walk.

Asuma sweat dropped. "Is anyone else concerned that we're going to have the noisiest shinobi entering the Chunin exams?"

Kurenai laughed lightly. "They'll be fine. Let them have a little fun while they can." She grabbed Gai by the ear as he tried to run past and join the singing gennin.

Kakashi continued to look at his copy of _Icha Icha Paradise_. His gaze however rose from time to time to fall on Sai and Daiki. "Things just got a lot more complicated." He thought bitterly.

OOOOO

"You seem distracted Sasuke-_kun_." Kabuto walked through the field at a calm pace. "I haven't seen that look in your eyes since you arrived at the base after your fight with Naruto-_kun_."

"I am not distracted." Sasuke replied in his usual flat tone. "Far from it actually. There is no doubt that there will be entries from Konoha at the exams. You and I are not on friendly terms with those representatives. Should our presence be discovered, it would not end well."

"We've avoided their traps before, the chances that they will discover us…"

"Are ever increasing." Sasuke interrupted. "You should have learned by now…" He reached out and pointed to Kabuto's stomach, knowing where the scar of Naruto's Rasengan attack still lay. "That underestimating them can be quite dangerous." He continued to walk. "If I have grown under the teaching of Orochimaru, it is safe to assume that Naruto and Sakura have grown under Jiraiya and Tsunade. I'm sure that the others have grown as well."

Kabuto frowned. "Your assessment is dry and scathing as always Sasuke-_kun_."

Sasuke grunted and continued to walk. Allowing his mind to continue to work at his true concern, Naruto. His former teammate was really the only one who would have the ability to stop Sasuke if they met. Part of Sasuke wanted to fight Naruto again in the worst possible way. The unpredictable blonde was the only one who ever seemed to be able to push him to new heights. Sasuke may have been considered a prodigy by the other villagers, but there were times he wondered if a good portion of his progress was due to Naruto's unrelenting competition. He wanted to fight him again. At the same time, Sasuke did not want to see Naruto.

"_I'll stop you, even if I have to break your arms and legs to do it!_"

Naruto's voice echoed through Sasuke's mind. Naruto had said he considered him a brother. Though Sasuke had thrown that idea away instantly, it's ghost still lingered. If he had to face Naruto and lost, he would be dragged back to Konoha. Though he didn't trust Orochimaru, there were things Sasuke could learn only from the snake-sannin. He couldn't let himself be taken.

Sasuke closed his eyes and sighed a moment. There was also the issue of Orochimaru's orders, as well as that of his brother's, concerning Naruto. One wanted him dead because of his meddling, the other because he was the key to Sasuke unlocking the most sought after jutsus of his bloodline. Sasuke again had to consider Naruto's death should they meet again. Killing Naruto would not only give Orochimaru the idea he could control Sasuke, but also violate his own decision not to submit to his brother's will. The thought that he could order one of his subordinates to kill Naruto passed through his mind, but he quickly dismissed it. Just as only Naruto could stop him, only Sasuke himself would be able to stop Naruto.

His eyes opened and he stared up at the sky. "Naruto…" He thought silently. "Stay away from me. I will make use of you when the time is right, but for now, stay away from me."

OOOOO

Night had fallen and the small group from Konoha had set up camp in a small clearing. A large fire burned brightly at the center of the many tents. It was toward this fire that Naruto now walked slowly. "I don't suppose we have any ramen do we?"

Asuma chuckled as he turned from where he stirred the contents of a large cooking pot. "Sorry Naruto, no ramen for a while." He poured a large bowl of the stew he had prepared and handed it to Naruto. "How'd your training go?"

Naruto gratefully accepted the offering. He wiped the mud from his face and hands as he sat down. "It went well. By the time we get to the exams, I'll have a whole new set of jutsu up my sleeves!" He dug into the stew quickly and held out his bowl for another helping. "Where's everyone else anyway?"

"Out training, same as you were." Asuma took a drag from his cigarette and refilled Naruto's bowl. "To be honest, I figured you to be the last one to show up here."

Naruto frowned. "That's cause Kakashi-sensei said I had to save some of my strength. I wanted to go for a few more hours."

Asuma smiled. "Shame Shikamaru doesn't have your drive to train."

"Yeah, I wondered about that." Naruto set his bowl down in his lap. "Shikamaru's already a chunin, why's he even here?"

Asuma's smile lessened, but didn't fade. "If someone on your team was a chunin wouldn't you what him around for some extra pointers?"

Naruto's face scrunched up a bit. "Yeah, I guess." He continued to eat, though a bit slower now. "How's your new teammate?"

"Hanabi?" Asuma rubbed his brow in thought. "She's got a lot of potential, just like everyone else here, but she likes to pick fights with everyone. Even her teammates."

Naruto laughed lightly. "She better be careful, Ino might fight back."

Asuma laughed. "I suppose that's true."

Naruto finished his meal and stood. "I'm going to take a walk." He paused. "Have you seen _teme_ around anywhere?"

Asuma blinked a moment. "The other Haruno? I thought he was with you and Kakashi."

Naruto sighed. "He's always got to be a pain…" He ran up the nearest tree and paused on the lowest branch. "I'll see if I can find him." He leapt up to the next branch and moved further into the forest. "_Baka teme_…" Naruto grumbled as he jumped through the trees. He traveled for a few more minutes before he heard the sounds of clones dispersing. Traveling higher into the trees he searched for the location. "Who else would be using _Kage Bunshin_ way out here?"

"_Oi, ahou_."

Naruto jumped as he heard Daiki's voice, he looked down and saw the pink-banged teen hanging from the same branch by using his chakra. For a moment, Naruto flashed an image of a mirror image as they stood on opposite sides of the branch.

"Your stealth skills still suck." Daiki crossed his arms over his chest. "What do you want?"

"I want to fight you." Naruto replied. "One more time before the exams."

Daiki took his time staring out over the landscape before replying. "No."

Naruto crouched down and placed his hands on the branch for balance as he leaned over. "Huh? Why not?"

Daiki mirrored Naruto's movements, bringing their faces only inches away from one another. "Because I don't want to know anymore about you until we face each other in the exams."

Naruto blinked. "Huh?"

"You think I've been training you simply to kill time?" Daiki asked. "That I showed you the blood seals for the hell of it? That I've been trying to make you stronger on a whim?"

Naruto stared. "Then why?"

"I did not tell your Hokage to let you go to these exams for your sake. I have reasons of my own that I want you there." Daiki replied. "To fight you now would defeat that purpose."

"I don't get what your talking about." Naruto complained. "What difference does all that make?"

"I am as you were." Daiki explained. "As I said, you were an unknown. Your victory over Neji will make people look for you this time. That's why I need you strong as possible." He grinned, looking slightly feral in his crouched position. "So when I defeat you, all the Lords will see how strong I am. They will see the strength of my village." His grin faded. "However, I don't want to fight you knowing all your tricks. I know too much of you already for this battle."

"So you want to beat me, but you don't want to know my weaknesses?" Naruto scratched his head. "You're weird."

"No more so than anyone else on this trip." Daiki turned away slightly and stood, or rather hung, on the branch. "I'm going to assume that you wanted to fight me as a test of your skills. I will not fight you, but I will give you a few hints to go on for your training." He looked back up at Naruto. "How you use them to get stronger is up to you. Still interested?"

Naruto nodded.

"All right, first figure out why your signature move is a _kinjutsu._" Daiki pressed on before Naruto could question him. "Second, I want you to remember your fight at the Battle of the End. You did something there that you have not done before or since, and I'm not referring to the…red chakra. Third, learn how to type fighters. I've already given you some other hints on this, so figure it out." He paused again and glanced up to look Naruto in the eye. "The last thing isn't so much for training, as a piece of advice."

"Yeah?"

"Your pursuit of new jutsus is admirable, but be careful." Daiki cautioned seriously. "Pursuit of new jutsu can be extremely dangerous."

Naruto blinked. "How could trying to learn new jutsu be dangerous?"

Daiki smiled sadly. "I'd tell you, but maybe you should ask your old teammate, or his new master." His chakra weakened and he fell away into the darkness below.

He watched as Daiki vanished from sight and sense. A moment later Naruto looked up at the moon. He didn't really understand the hints at the moment, except for the last one. "Orochimaru pursued jutsus and became a missing-nin. Sasuke pursued power from Orochimaru and became a missing-nin." He looked down and closed his eyes. "When Ero-sennin promised to teach me the Rasengan, I went at it like a mad man. Even more when I made that bet with Tsunade-_obaa-chan_." He paused. "But I never lost myself the way that Sasuke did." He looked down in the darkness. "What was it you lost Daiki?"

He considered going back to the camp to talk with the others, maybe have another few bowls of stew as well, but then realized he didn't want to be around others right at the moment. He sat down on the branch, letting one leg dangle as he pressed his back against the trunk of the tree. He continued to watch the sky for a time, mulling over Daiki's advice and the meaning behind them. Before long the physical strain from training, and the mental exhaustion of these new ideas, had put Naruto in a deep sleep.

OOOOO

Rider: So? What did everyone think? Good? Bad? Otherwise? If you have a moment, please share a little something with me to let me know your thoughts. (Looks around) Where'd those two go? (shrugs) Seems I've been abandoned…oh well. 'Till the next, live well all.


	12. Convergence

Riderofdragons: Wow…well, not the longest I've ever gone without updating, but certainly longer than I had originally hoped. So…yeah…sorry about that. In my defense, school, work, training, impending graduation (does a happy dance, stops in embarrassment and coughs violently), and life in general has been absolutely nucking futs on my end. So it's not like I was ignoring you guys for the hell of it.

Starfire72: (flying roundhouse kicks rider in the face) That's for keeping us waiting so long!

Walkswithwraiths: (spears the now flying rider from behind and plants his head in the ground) And that's for trying to make up excuses as to why it's been so long!

Rider: (muffled response from head being underground)

Starfire72: Yeah, we don't care. On with the fic!

OOOOO

Disclaimer: Uhg…what's the point of these? You guys know I'm not Kishimoto, right? Anyway, I don't own Naruto…blah, blah, blah…Original characters are mine…blah, blah…don't sue me, I have no money…blah, blah, blah…

OOOOO

A Shinobi's Decision

Chapter Twelve: Convergence

Naruto fell backwards landing hard on the rocky terrain. Before his head hit the ground however, he felt someone's knee tap at his back. He didn't need to look up to know that Kakashi had caught him. Naruto let his head lean forward slightly, wondering how closely this scene resembled the one at the chunin exam preliminaries. He tipped his head back after a moment to look up at his teacher. "So? How'd I do?"

Kakashi closed his book and returned it to his hip satchel. As he looked down it was possible to see his smile behind the facemask. "As always, you find new ways to surprise me Naruto. You've done very well."

Naruto grinned and laughed lightly in his usual fashion. "What are you going to teach me next?"

Kakashi chuckled and shook his head. "Nothing. You need to sleep."

Naruto groaned. "But Kakashi-sensei…"

"No buts Naruto." Kakashi leaned down and helped his student to his feet. "You've been working all through the night, and we enter _Kumogakure_ tomorrow." He smiled again through his mask. "Even with your recuperative abilities you shouldn't push your luck on such a big night."

Naruto took a few steps toward the campsite, but stopped. "_Ne,_ _Kakashi-sensei…_"

Kakashi picked his head up slightly. "What is it?"

"Do you think…I mean…" Naruto looked down at the ground. "Sound sent a team to the last exams…Do you think they'll send anyone to this exam?"

Kakashi closed his eye and scratched at the back of his head. "Well…"

"I mean, I know that there not going to send Sasuke-_teme_ cause that would be a real big risk that Orochimaru won't want to take…" Naruto looked over at his teacher, a somewhat hopeful look in his eyes that maybe he was wrong in that assessment. "But maybe they'll send some other _gennin_ that we can pick up some leads from."

Kakashi nodded. "Anything is possible Naruto, but for now let's just concentrate on the ex…"

"I'm going to get him back Kakashi-_sensei_." Naruto interrupted. "If I learn something about Sasuke, I'm going to go after it. Even if I have to forfeit my chance at attaining the _chunin_ rank at this exam."

Kakashi blinked at the determination he heard in Naruto's voice. It wasn't unusual for the boy to declare intentions that often seemed bigger than he could realistically complete. It also wasn't unusual that Naruto could often deliver on those promises. Yet there was something different this time.

"_Even if I have to forfeit my chance at the chunin rank."_

Kakashi closed his eyes. To forfeit his chance at _chunin_ was to essentially delay his hopes of becoming Hokage, if not losing the opportunity all together.

"_Those who abandon their friends are worse than trash."_

If someone had told Kakashi at the start of his training Team Seven, that the most loud mouthed, obnoxious, and unskilled ninja to ever be graduated from the academy would be his greatest student in that lesson, he would have laughed. Naruto was not only refusing to abandon Sasuke, but giving up that which mattered most to him to do it. Kakashi shook his head as he realized that was only half of the truth. Naruto was giving up both of the things that meant the most to him. "Naruto, come here."

Naruto blinked but did as he was told. "What is it?"

Kakashi reached into his hip satchel, but let his hand remain there. "I want you to have something."

Naruto scrunched his face. "You're not going to try and get me to read those pervy books like _Ero-sennin_ are you?"

Kakashi sweat dropped. "No Naruto, this is much different." He pulled his hand from his satchel and revealed a kunai, which he then handed to his student.

The young blond looked over the weapon in confusion for a moment. It was longer than a standard kunai blade and had an extremely unique shape having a long blade at the center and two shorter blades to the sides. He tested the blade experimentally and found it was also much heavier than a normal blade. Though the light from the moon was dim, Naruto also noticed a single marking at the center of the weapon's perfect black matte finish. He squinted at the blemish and found it to not be dirt, but an engraving. The first thought was that it was the crest of the Hatake clan, but dismissed it because he had never heard his sensei talk about such a group. That left only a seal, a subject in which Naruto never excelled. He decided to ask Sakura about it later, certain his walking encyclopedia of a teammate would call him names, but ultimately be able to tell him what it was. At last he looked up at the silver haired _jounin_. "I don't understand."

The faint trace of a shadow became visible on Kakashi's mask as he smiled. "As you've probably noticed, that kunai is a lot different from the ones that you're used to." He tilted his head back and looked up at the moon. "Still, if you learn to use it properly and get used to it, it will never let you down."

Naruto shook his head. "Why give it to me now though? I won't have time to practice with it before the exams start."

"Yeah, sorry about that." Kakashi nodded. "I was going to give it to you as a gift after you got your _chunin_ vest but…I think you might be ready for it now."

"Ready for it?"

Kakashi nodded. "That blade was a gift given to me many years ago. At the time, I thought it was very strange as well." He looked down again at Naruto. "Every time that I have used it, I have been able to keep my friends safe." He smiled again. "And seeing how much you've grown over so short a time, I can't help but wonder…"

Naruto studied his teacher's face as he trailed off. "Wondered what?"

"I wonder if that kunai was ever really meant for me, or if I was just holding onto it until the man it was truly meant for was ready for it." Kakashi smiled. "Well, I suppose we'll just have to wait and see, _ne_?"

Naruto looked over the blade again, this time with a bit more awe and reverence. "_A-arigatou sensei_. I'll make sure to put it to good use."

"I'm sure you will Naruto." Kakashi nodded toward the campsite. "You should go get some sleep."

Naruto nodded and began to walk, all the while trying to get a feel for spinning the heavy blade by it's ring. "Kakashi-_sensei_? Who was it that gave you this?"

Kakashi smiled. "Let's just say that, by me giving it to you, we've started something of a tradition. Good night Naruto."

The young shinobi reached out to try and ask for clarification, but the _jounin_ was already gone into the smoke. "A tradition?" He questioned quietly as he walked slowly. "Father to son? No, even though I don't know my parents I really doubt Kakashi-_sensei_ could be my father. So what else counts as a tradition? And who else would give Sensei a kunai with which to protect his friends…" Naruto's voice trailed off as he uttered the last word.

"_A lesson from my Sensei_…_Those who abandon their friends are worse than trash."_

"Sensei's sensei…" Naruto's eyes went wide. "This must have belonged to…" Naruto shook his head. "No that can't be right either." He turned away from the campsite, continuing to try and get used to the kunai. "I mean, why would Yondaime Hokage give Kakashi-_sensei_ a blade to hold for me?" Before long, Naruto had wandered quite a distance away from the campsite.

He stopped as he came to a rocky outcropping with a waterfall and a small lake. "Maybe I should wash up a bit before I go back to the camp…" Naruto had just put the heavy knife away and unzipped his jacket when he sensed the other presence at the waterfall. Instinctively he reached for his kunai holster and dropped into his defensive stance. He evaluated his target quickly taking in her pale skin, lavender eyes, and dark blue hair.

"What the hell are you doing here loser?"

Naruto ground his teeth and put his weapon away. "I could ask you the same thing _gaki_." He continued to remove his jacket and sat down on one of the nearby rocks to remove his sandals.

"Watch your tone plebian." Hanabi stepped forward slightly. "I will not have you address me with such disrespect."

"In case you haven't noticed, I don't care to much for authority and formalities." Naruto looked up at the young girl directly. "And you haven't done anything to make me want to show you respect. If anything, the way that you treat Neji and your sister makes me want to beat the snot out of you."

Hanabi scoffed. "Don't get so full of yourself loser. Just cause you managed to beat that Branch Family cousin of mine doesn't mean you're anywhere in my league."

Naruto felt his lip twitch slightly as he reminded himself that Hanabi was still technically a little kid from his village. "Well, I guess we'll just have to wait until the exams to find out for sure." He leaned back slightly in his seat.

Hanabi's eyes narrowed. "You never answered my question. What are you doing out here?"

Naruto sighed. He really didn't want to deal with this at the moment. He just wanted to get clean and catch some shut eye. "I finished training with Kakashi-_sensei_ and decided to take a bath now. What about you?"

"None of your business loser."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Fine, if that's all I'd like to get back to my bath."

"Who said I was done with you?" Hanabi crossed her arms over chest. "Have you seen my sister out here?"

"Hinata?" Naruto raised his eyebrows slightly. "Nope, haven't seen her."

Hanabi frowned. "That idiot better not have gotten herself kidnapped again."

"Again?" Naruto whispered to himself. Instantly the lost details of Neji's tale from months ago returned to Naruto. For a brief instant Naruto tensed. They were deep into Lightning Country, only a day out from _Kumogakure_ even. It wasn't outside the realm of possibilities that _Kumo-nin_ were in the area. The moment passed quickly as he shook his head. Kakashi-_sensei_, not to mention the other jounin, would have sensed something if that was indeed the case. Not to mention, any ninja worth his salt would go after Hanabi because of her being less likely to defend herself. Naruto shook his head again. "She's probably off training somewhere."

Hanabi only frowned slightly at this. "What possible purpose would that serve her?" Hanabi grinned maliciously. "She will fail just the same as she did last time. Her weakness is inherent, that is why she was removed from her position as clan heir."

Naruto felt his jaw clench.

"She is a stain on the house of Hyuuga. She was a failure then, she will be a failure now." Hanabi smirked as she saw the anger beginning to show in Naruto's eyes. "But then, I suppose I should be slightly thankful to her. After all, she showed me what a kunoichi is not supposed to look like." She turned to walk away, but gasped as she found Naruto blocking her path. She turned back toward where Naruto sat. "You think some little _Kage Bunshin_…" She trailed off as she saw only Naruto's jacket and sandals on the bank. She barely had time to question how Naruto had gotten around her so quickly with out her sensing him before she felt his fist pound into the top of her head. Unprepared, and unaccustomed, to such a blow she fell face first into the dirt. When she looked up she saw Naruto still standing over her.

"You stupid brat!" Naruto felt a little of his anger fade as he looked at the now dirty face of the young Hyuuga heiress. At the back of his mind however were memories of the last exam. How Hinata had been willing to let him cheat off of her test. The medical salve she had given _him_, when by all rights she should have been seeing to her recently beaten teammate. Her words of inspiration at the training grounds before his fight with Neji. The time she spent away from her own studies to help him when Daiki insisted on him learning medical jutsu. "Hinata is worth a thousand of the rest of you Hyuuga! All you guys care about is making sure that everybody thinks your better than they are, but Hinata goes out and gives it everything she has to improve herself and help people around her! And you…you…" Naruto turned away and walked back to his stuff. "You're the worst of all, to stab your own sister in the back even when she's still looking out for you."

Hanabi picked herself up off the ground, staring at Naruto's back. "What good does it do me to have a weakling like her looking out for me?" She blinked and jerked back slightly as Naruto turned his head slightly toward her. The anger was gone and he was looking at her with…pity?

"The fact that you think Hinata is weak…" Naruto turned away from the girl once more. "Means you have no idea what it means to truly be strong." He kept his back to Hanabi as he removed his shirt. "Go back to the camp. You're interrupting my bath." He waited until he could no longer sense her presence before disrobing completely and sinking into the lake water. His frustrated mumblings hidden as his head slipped below the surface.

OOOOO

Unbeknownst to the two shinobi beside the small pond, there was a witness to their conversation. High overhead in the trees, Hinata perched on one of the branches. She had sensed Naruto coming, having memorized his chakra pattern from countless times she had watched him from afar, toward the lake where she was training. Still, that early warning had been of limited use as she had been forced to flee quickly. She shivered slightly as the wind raced around her bare skin. She looked across the lake, opposite where Naruto had entered where her clothing lay in a neatly folded pile, contemplating how to get them back without Naruto noticing her.

She forced this thought from her mind as she saw her younger sister confront Naruto. Though she could see them thanks to her bloodline, she was too far away to hear what was said. Even as she read their body language she found herself becoming uneasy. She shivered again as the wind gusted past. Telling herself that it was due to the cold, and not her curiosity, she deactivated her _Byakugan_ to avoid detection and began to quietly move lower into trees and toward the other ninjas. She gasped as she saw Naruto move faster than she had ever seen to circle around Hanabi and bop her over the head. The action shocked Hinata. She had never seen Naruto hit someone in such a manner, to act almost like a common bully. Hinata almost ran from the trees to go help her sister but stopped as Naruto's loud voice carried across the lake.

"Hinata is worth a thousand of the rest of you Hyuuga! All you guys care about is making sure that everybody thinks you're better than they are, but Hinata goes out and gives it everything she has to improve herself and help people around her! And you…you…"

Hinata strained her ears to try and hear what came next, but their voices were once again to low. She looked over and saw that her sister was not hurt, at least not physically. Maybe her pride, but nothing more. Knowing her sister was safe Hinata relaxed, and allowed the full impact of Naruto's words to hit her. She felt herself become warm despite the breeze. She was at the same moment disappointed that Naruto would raise his hand to such a young girl and flattered that he had done so to defend her. The fact that the two emotions clashed left her unsure of how she should really feel about what she had just seen. She watched as Hanabi walked away back towards the camp. Her gait was slower and smaller than normal. Whatever Naruto had said, it had cut deeply. Hinata decided to look after Hanabi to make sure she was ok.

Naruto's unusual behavior also worried Hinata as she looked back toward the blonde. She felt her face flush hotter than she could ever remember as she took in Naruto in his boxers with his thumbs tugging at the waistline. She covered her eyes with her hands, but her fingers split open a moment later as she tried to peak through. All she saw was the beige fabric of her jacket as it hung before her. She reached out and caught her clothing just as the charka thread suspending her belongings from high above was severed.

She quickly reactivated her _Byakugan_ to try and determine who was there. What she found puzzled her. There was no presence where the chakra thread's ambient pattern ended. Whoever had been there had long since left. Only a faint void in the ambient pattern of the trees remained. She tried to focus harder on the shape of the void, willing it to make sense. Even if Hinata took into account all the ways a person could have sat up there the shapes didn't fit. In the end Hinata could only make one conclusion.

The spy had not been human.

OOOOO

The blonde _gennin_ groaned again as he continued to trudge up the long stone path. "How much farther is it to this place?"

"Ten steps less than the last time you asked!" Ino spun rapidly and frustration was clearly visible on her face. "And twenty steps less from the time before that! Now shut up before I use _Shintenshin_ on you and make you jump off of the mountain!" She whirled around again and continued the long hike.

Naruto pouted and continued to walk. "Well someone's in a foul mood today…" He muttered under his breath, or so he thought until Ino turned toward him already making hand seals. With a startled yell Naruto dove behind Shikamaru.

"_Oi! Oi!_" Shikamaru pushed Naruto away. "Don't get me involved with your fight. You two are troublesome enough already."

Asuma sighed and rubbed at his temple. "Ino, stop threatening Naruto." The chain smoking _jounin_ looked over at Kakashi, not surprised to see his nose in his book. "I'm beginning to see why you always have that out around your team."

"It is a wonderful way to tune him out when he gets like this." Kakashi replied as he casually flipped the page. "It certainly beats the alternative…" His eye glanced up toward the front of the hiking troop.

"Lee! We are not even half way up the mountain!" Gai called back as he walked on his hands up the steep incline. "Has your flame of youth already dimmed before this great exercise?"

Lee, also walking on his hands, was sweating heavily as he tried to keep up with his mentor. "No Gai-Sensei! I will not give up! And if by some chance I can not finish this exercise I will do five thousand punches!"

Gai nodded with a smile. "And if you can not do that then I shall practice five thousand kicks!"

"And if you can not do that I will do five thousand pushups!" Replied Lee quickly.

"And if you can not do that I will…" Gai's words seemed to stop in mid sentence though his mouth still moved.

Kurenai simply shrugged her shoulders as the various _gennin_ turned to see her finishing a set of hand seals. Though Lee and Gai could still be seen talking to each other, neither produced any sound. "How do you think I put up with Gai on long term missions?" She almost startled as she was suddenly flanked on both sides by Neji and Tenten.

"You need to show us how to perform that jutsu." The both stated as one.

Kurenai smiled. "I think we can arrange that."

Sai tilted his head slightly as he turned to Sakura. "I am confused. Why is it so bad that Maito Gai and Rock Lee talk to each other in such a fashion? And why does it cause humor to have them silenced?"

Sakura chuckled lightly. "You haven't been around them as long so it's probably not as funny to you, but if you let them, Lee and Gai-_sensei_ would go on and on like that for hours."

"I still do not understand." Sai shook his head.

Sakura thought for a second. "You know how annoying Naruto can get when he won't be quiet…

"Hey!" Chimed in said blonde from the back of the group.

Sai nodded.

"And it's really nice when he finally does stop?" Sakura continued as she playfully stuck her tongue out at her teammate. "Well, multiply that by about fifteen million times for Lee and Gai-_sensei_ when they get like that."

"I see." Sai nodded. He tried to smile. "That is slightly humorous."

Sakura shivered as she looked at the creepy forced smile, but quickly put on a smile of her own. "Yeah, isn't it?" She slowed her pace slightly to drop back to the rest of the group to put some distance between herself and her new teammate. She couldn't put her finger on it, but he always gave her the chills for some reason.

"Thanks a lot." Naruto grumbled as came into step with Sakura.

Sakura frowned slightly at Naruto's attitude. "Oh come on. I was just teasing."

Naruto grunted, but nodded. "So, how much farther do you think we have to go?" Careful this time so as not to let Ino hear him.

Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. The higher up we go, the less land markings I have to go on."

"T-they say that _Kumogakure_ is one of the few villages that is true to it's name." Hinata supplied from behind the others. "Unlike the other villages that take there names as symbolic meanings of shinobi might and their home country…" She stopped for a moment as she saw Naruto had turned slightly to face her. "_A-ano_…They say that _Kumogakure_ truly is hidden in the clouds. That if you miss step then you will quiet literally fall from the heavens."

"So the village is high enough on the mountain that it gains a natural cloud cover?" Sakura looked up at the path. "I'd say we have a long way to go then."

"Not as far as you might think." Kiba interrupted. "Scents have been becoming much more powerful as we've climbed."

"So?" Naruto's head tilted in confusion.

"Scents are basically clouds of chemicals." Kiba continued. "They become weaker as the air disperses them. The fact that they're getting stronger means that the air is getting thinner. It shouldn't be long before there is more water vapor than normal air and clouds start to form."

Naruto scratched his head. "So less air and more water makes clouds? How does that help us figure out how far we are from the village?"

"Cloud formation usually requires a mixed atmosphere of between sixty to seventy-five percent water and the rest normal air." Hinata whispered. "Currently the humidity is about fifty percent."

Naruto blinked. "Wow, that's amazing Hinata. You must have studied a lot to learn something like that."

"Or she's making it up." Stated Hanabi as she kept her gaze forward. "She's no more a weather expert than she is a _Jyuuken_ master." Her eyes shifted slightly toward her sister. "How could you possibly know such things?"

Hinata faltered under the stern gaze that reminded her so much of her father. "Well…I…"

Naruto, weather by design or by accident, walked between the two Hyuuga siblings breaking their eye contact. "It was probably one of the lessons I fell asleep during at the academy. Right Hinata?"

Hinata blushed brightly as Naruto spoke to her, the memories of last night still fresh in her mind. "It…it was in one of the scrolls Daiki made me read. About how the environment could effect medical jutsu."

Hanabi turned her head back to look at the older Haruno. "Is this true?"

Daiki nodded slightly before turning to his student. "Hinata, based on the change in humidity from the base of the mountain to this point, how long do you predict it will be before cloud formation will begin? Assuming that our rate of accent is constant."

Hinata looked down at the ground as she felt all eyes turn toward her. "I-if we continue at this speed, at the lowest possible threshold about two hours." She paused and swallowed hard. "At maximum five hours." She breathed a sigh of relief as Daiki smiled and nodded.

Naruto grinned. "Then we should only have another two hours to hike!"

"Or five…" Sakura added, though she doubted that Naruto heard her.

"Any more doubts?" Naruto smirked as he turned toward Hanabi. He laughed lightly as she scowled at him and quickened her pace to get ahead of him.

Hinata brought her hand to her mouth nervously as she watched her sister storm away. She did not see however that Neji frowned deeply at Hanabi's reaction.

Towards the back of the group, Shino turned slightly toward where Daiki walked beside him. The two walked for a few minutes in silence while making eye contact, or glasses contact in Shino's case. At last the bug user spoke. "Thank you."

Daiki watched, somewhat dumbfounded, as Shino slowly pulled away towards his teammates. Daiki closed his eyes and put his hands behind his head as he continued to walk. "What are you thanking me for? I just wanted to make sure my apprentice did her homework." He frowned as a 'hmm' sound was the only response Shino made without turning around. "_Tsk_, whatever."

The slowest of the hikers watched this all silently as he brought up the rear of the group. Choji popped open another bag of potato chips and continued to walk. He clapped his hand on Daiki's shoulder once as he passed him before joining Shikamaru's side. He smiled and nodded once to his _chunin_ friend.

The shadow wielder scratched his face idly, adding this to his growing pile of information to see where it might fit.

True to Hinata's prediction clouds began to roll around the Konoha ninja about three hours later. Kakashi took the lead to mark the path as visibility waned quickly. Hinata remained at the middle of the group to monitor safety for the group while Neji took up the rear guard position to make sure no one was left behind. It took the better part of an hour before the group broke through the clouds into clear zone. The _gennin_ all gasped at what they saw.

A short distance from their current position lay the a large gate with the telltale insignia of the Village Hidden in the Clouds. Behind it they could see that the mountain continued to rise higher until it became lost in a second layer of clouds. The mountain that was visible however was not sheer and clean, but carved and tiered with definitive elements. Even from this vantage point the young shinobi could see the various dwellings and shop signs that had been carved into the mountain itself. Just to the left as the mountain reached its natural boundaries the next sight became visible. Clouds stretched as far as the eye could see both above and below them so that neither the sky nor the ground far below could be seen. The high water content in the atmosphere broke down the light thrown by the distant sun into it's most basic colors giving the area a hazy rainbow tinted look. The _gennin_ stood staring along the mountain path's ridge for a time, the vision so unlike any of the other villages that they had ever seen it seemed almost otherworldly.

Sakura stepped back as she saw Daiki turn and began walking toward the village gate on his own. "Daiki? Where are you going?"

The boy turned. "Here we part ways Sakura-_sama_. Oh…" He reached into his hip satchel. "Do you recall the saying that Haruno Touya was famous for?"

Sakura nodded. "On the battlefield life becomes death and death becomes life. It is the job of a med-nin to be the boundary between the two." She jerked back slightly as Daiki threw something towards her.

"It will be interesting to see how take that lesson to heart." Daiki looked over at Naruto.

Naruto nodded and watched as Daiki walked up to the gate only stopping as three burst of flame appeared around the _En-nin_.

Sakura watched as Daiki and his team presented their identifications and gained admittance to the village. As the first three members of the cell entered however, Sakura felt a wave of killing intent hit her hard. She traced it to its source and found the last member of the cell staring directly at her. Sakura grit her teeth as she saw the girl frown and draw a line across her throat with her thumb. Then the girl was gone in a burst of fire the same as she used to arrive. "Not much need for explanation there." Sakura whispered.

Naruto, unaware of Sakura's experience, nodded. "He's drawn his line in the dirt."

"Sand, idiot." Kiba muttered. "The saying is line in the sand."

Naruto shrugged. "Same thing." He looked up at the gate. "From here on out, we're enemies." He shook his head. "No, not enemies. Rivals."

Sakura smiled and shook her head, for some reason unable to tell him that his first thought was probably closer to correct.

Naruto hitched his pack higher on his back and moved forward. "Let's go! I'm not about to let him beat me!"

Kakashi shook his head. "Calm down Naruto. The exam doesn't start until tomorrow."

"_Mendokusei_…" Shikamaru muttered as he walked forward and presented his ID to the gatekeepers. "I'm going on ahead."

Asuma only nodded, knowing his student would be fine on his own.

Soon after Shikamaru the other gennin began to file up to the gate for admittance. Naruto looked and saw that Hinata and Kurenai were still back by the cliff edge talking quietly. He walked slowly closer to them, wondering what they could be discussing at this point. He caught only the tail end of what was said.

"…stronger Hinata." Kurenai assured. "You have nothing to worry about."

Any response that Hinata might have had was lost as Naruto interrupted. "Course she doesn't have anything to worry about Kurenai-_sensei_. Hinata's kicked butt on every mission since the last exam. No way she leaves this exam without a tactical vest!"

Kurenai turned as she heard Naruto's voice and smiled at him. Knowing all to well about her student's crush on the blonde, the jounin decided not to tell him that wasn't the point of the conversation and see if he could bolster Hinata's courage as he had so unknowingly done in the past. "I've been trying to convince her of that, but maybe she'll listen to you Naruto."

For a brief instant, Hinata wasn't sure if she wanted to hug her sensei for setting up this conversation, or throw her over the cliff face. She felt her whole body become warm and knew that she must be blushing fiercely, and prayed to every _Kami_ of her family that Naruto wouldn't notice.

Naruto leaned in and examined Hinata's face intently. "_Ne,_ Hinata…You always seem to have a fever whenever I see you." He placed his hand against her forehead. "You're really warm, hot even."

Hinata's brain at this point shut down. Her body went limp as she passed out and fell forward into his arms.

"Ah! Hinata!" Naruto caught the girl and easily supported her. He saw she was still breathing and her face seemed to be returning to it's normal pale coloring. "Must be the mountain air…" As he spoke he moved his pack to his chest and turned around so that Hinata was leaning on his back. He bent at the knees and let her fall against him.

Kurenai made a brief motion to stop Naruto from what she knew he was going to do, but ultimately let him go as she watched the blonde start to carry the young girl piggy-back style. "What do you mean by that Naruto?"

Naruto was distracted by the sound of Kurenai's voice. He had always known that Hinata was the smallest of the gennin kunoichi, but he had never expected her to be as light as she was. "It's just that the air gets thinner as you get higher in the mountains." He replied as he remembered the explanation from earlier. "And Hinata always seems to be kind of sick when ever I see her, so she must have a really delicate…um…what's the word Daiki used…metabolism. She must have had trouble adjusting to the thinner air and passed out as a result."

Kurenai blinked at the boy's answer, not used to hearing him talk so technically about something like this. She smiled a moment later and nodded. "Yes, that must be the reason." She laughed knowingly as she began to move towards the gate. "I'm sure she would be very happy to know someone like you is looking out for her."

His head tilted to the side in confusion as he quickly caught up with the others. "I don't get it. What's so funny?"

Luckily for Kurenai, Sakura interrupted the conversation. "Naruto! What the hell'd you do to Hinata-chan?"

"Nothing! She passed out cause of the thin air!" Naruto defended hastily, not entirely certain that carrying Hinata would save him from the beating Sakura seemed ready to dish out.

Sakura eyed him carefully for a moment, but finally backed off. "I better hear that from her when she wakes up then." She turned and presented her papers to the guard and passed to the other side of the gate. "And you better not let those hands wander either while you carry her!"

Naruto blanched at the comment. "Who the hell do you think I am? Ero-sennin? I would never do something like that to Hinata!" He hastily dug his papers out of his jacket pocket with his teeth and showed them to the guard as he ran to catch up with his team, all the while oblivious to the happy smile of the sleeping girl on his back.

OOOOO

Sakura looked around the village as she and Naruto walked around. "It's really a lot different from Konoha, isn't it?"

The blonde ninja nodded. He hadn't noticed it so much earlier in the day, what with arguing with Sakura and trying not to wake Hinata as they made there way to the competitors' quarters. "Yeah, now that the sun has gone down you can really see differences." He looked around at the neon lit signs that hung in the windows of restaurants and shops, a sharp contrast to the wooden painted signs and fabric hangings of back home.

"I know." Sakura agreed. "But don't you think it's a little strange?"

Naruto shrugged. "It's different, but it's still a ninja village." He didn't mention to her that he rather liked the place since he could walk around without all the villagers glaring at him like back home. He scanned the crowd a bit. He could see people watching him, but they were watching all the visiting shinobi like that. He was simply a shinobi of another village, not a _jinchuriki_. "It's got its good and bad points like any other Hidden Village."

"That's not what I meant." Sakura shook her head. "Look around Naruto. In terms of everyday advancement, Konoha is almost…rural compared to Kumo." She looked up at the ski-lift like transport system that hung over the city. "They have a lot more technology in use here than at home." She looked at her teammate again. "If they're that smart, why were there no kumo-nin of significant strength in the last chunin exam?"

Naruto thought for a moment, and came up with an number of ideas. There was the fact that there were two _jinchuriki_ in the exam, but he couldn't tell Sakura that. There was the fact that two geniuses of Konoha's top clans were in the exams, but Naruto wasn't about to say anything positive about a certain _teme_ with Sakura in ear shot. He certainly couldn't mention to her about the history between Kumo and Konoha that he had learned of from Neji since he wasn't certain how much of that was supposed to be secret. He wondered if Kumogakure had been prevented from sending too many teams to Konoha because of those events. At last he shrugged his shoulders and made the only response he could. "Maybe their gennin just weren't as strong as we were."

"I'm all for remaining loyal to our village and saying we're the best Naruto, but we have to think about this. We had the advantage of home territory at the last exam, we're not going to be cut any slack this time cause the examiners might know who we are."

Naruto almost smirked at the comment. People had know who he was all his life, and never cut him any slack because of it. "If anything, I'll actually get a fair shot this time." He muttered under his breath.

Sakura turned a bit to him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Naruto panicked a moment, but quickly schooled it behind one of his usual goofy smiles. "I mean that'll actually give us a fair shot this time. At the last exam if we had passed we'd never know if we really deserved it cause the examiners may have been favoring us over other villages, even if they didn't mean to. I mean think about how many leaf ninja were at the preliminaries in relation to the other villages." He folded his hands behind his head as he walked and continued to talk before Sakura could try to poke any holes in his story. "As for my saying we were stronger, look at who's riding that thing above us."

Sakura looked up the people riding the shuttles. "What about them?"

"A lot of them are wearing forehead protectors." Naruto pointed out. "They get to relax as they move about the village." He smirked. "We may not run to the extent that bushy brows does, but we still have to get around our village under our own power. Think about how easy most of our old D-rank missions would have been if we had one of those things."

Sakura nodded slowly, surprised Naruto had come up with that reasoning before she had. "We had to carry bags of heavy groceries from one side of the village to the other, or chase down that stupid cat ever time we lost sight of it. If we had one of those…"

"We'd be as lazy as Shikamaru and gotten a lot less training to toughen us up." Naruto finished. "We're they don't get as much training as we do, so they're not as conditioned as we are."

She looked at him a moment in confusion, then smiled. "When did you get so smart? I'm not used to having you have to explain things to me."

"I can't be an idiot forever. Eventually we're going to start getting solo missions were I can rely on you guys to bail me out." He smiled back at her as she saw a sad expression cross her face at the thought of being separated from the team. "Don't worry though, it probably won't happen often. I'll still need your help for a good while longer. " His head jerked a moment. "That reminds me. I wanted to ask you about something." He reached for his kunai holster and his eyes narrowed slightly.

Sakura didn't have time to scream as Naruto suddenly pushed her to the ground. She rolled with him and felt him disengage from her to come into a defensive crouch before her. She stared at the strange kunai he held and the dead serious look he had on his face as he stared into the crowd. She blinked in confusion as he put the kunai away and his expression softened. She looked back out toward the street trying to see what could have made Naruto react this way.

"You're going to have to do better than that if you want to get the drop on me." Naruto called out to the people in the street with a small grin on his face. "_Sabaku no Gaara_."

Sakura shivered as she heard Naruto speak the name. Images of when they had tried to face the _Suna-nin_ in the forest returned to the forefront of her mind unbidden. She felt her breathing shift as she saw the sand rise off the street where they had just been standing and begin to flow back into the gourd as the red-head stepped out of the crowd. "You…"

"I apologize for involving you in that." Gaara spoke softly. "I wanted to see if Naruto had improved at all since we last fought."

Naruto smirked. "So how'd I do?"

"Well, you're still alive." Gaara replied. "So I guess you pass, for now anyway."

"Just you wait 'till the finals." Naruto challenged. "I'll show you how much I've improved there!"

Sakura stood dumbfounded. This was the guy who had tried to kill them all. She knew that they were allies with Suna now, that Gaara's team had even helped in trying to retrieve Sasuke even, but to hear Naruto talking with him like they were old friends confused her quite a bit.

Gaara allowed a small smile onto his features. "I look forward to it." The smiled faded a moment later. "Tell me, have you felt it?"

Naruto blinked. "Felt what?"

Gaara looked at Sakura a moment, then back to Naruto. "My father once told me that Kumogakure had someone like me."

Naruto's eyes widened as he realized what Gaara was trying to say without alerting Sakura. "I didn't know anything about such rumors."

Gaara nodded once and turned around. "I was looking for that person when I saw you." He looked back over his shoulder. "I believe there may be more than one. Be careful Naruto." He said nothing more as he retreated back into the crowd.

A few minutes later, Sakura found her voice once again. "What was that all about?"

"It's nothing."

The severity of his tone made Sakura shiver. She brought her arms up and crossed them around her chest, as though trying to suppress the small amount of worry growing with in her. The abrupt changes she had seen in Naruto a moment ago and heard just now scared her. "You better not forget…about the promise we made."

Naruto turned, seeing the concerned looked on Sakura's face as well as the fact that she was still trembling. He scratched his head distractedly. "I haven't forgotten." They stood there a few minutes more in silence before Naruto looked away. "Tomorrow's going to be crazy, we should get back to the dorms."

She nodded slowly. "_Hai_…"

Her reply was short and sad, and cut Naruto worse than Sasuke's Chidori ever could. They walked back slowly, all the while he studied her expression as he tried to think of something to say to help her feel better. Noticing she was still trembling a bit, he removed his jacket and placed it over her shoulders. He forced himself to smile as she gave him a confused look. "You looked like you were cold."

Sakura nodded, forcing herself not to yell at him for showing her a pretend smile. "Yeah, a little. Thanks." They said nothing more as they made there way to their quarters and turned in to ready themselves for the coming day.

OOOOO

"You sure he's going to be here?" Asked the larger man as they sat at the tea shop counter. "Seems to me it would be foolish for them to send him out when they know we're looking for him."

The smaller man nodded. "Normally, yes. But they really don't have a choice in this case."

"I guess you're right." The other replied. "Should we just take him now?"

"No." The smaller man shook his head. "I want to see how he's grown first. Though I doubt it would be by any significant means, I would rather not underestimate him."

Finishing his tea, the taller man stood up. "Guess we ought to find ourselves a place to stay then in the mean time." He suggested as he secured a large wrapped sword to his back.

The smaller man rose and headed for the exit. "Very well."

OOOOO

"Oh…I hate this place already." Complained the first man as they entered the village's southern gate. "I mean look at it. So permanent, yeah."

His partner shook his head. "The permanency is what gives this village it's true beauty." His reply gruff and full of contempt for his partner's observation.

The first man laughed lightly. "It seems we're back to our usual argument, yeah."

"Only because you will not see the foolishness of your statements." Remarked the second. "Let's just find what we came for so we can move on. You know how I hate to wait and make others wait for me."

OOOOO

"We're finally here." Complained the figure as he entered the villages Northern entrance. "How freaking long was that trip anyway?"

"It would have been much shorter if you hadn't felt the need to pray to your god every few hours." Shot back the second.

"It would have been shorter still if we hadn't gone to all those creepy crypts so you could get your blood money." Retorted the first man with a low growl. "Let's just find this bitch so we can complete this assignment."

OOOOO

At the western entrance a man stopped by at the guard station and registered himself as a visitor of the village. "I can't really hope to check anything out until tomorrow if my informant really is here." He looked around the village as he walked. A grin spread across his face as he spotted a sign for a hot spring resort. "Might as well do some research in the mean time!"

OOOOO

At the eastern entrance a small band of shinobi registered themselves for the upcoming chunin exam. With the guards distracted, the secondary parties easily bypassed the sentry station and climbed over the wall. Once far enough inside one of the members of this party lifted his hood back and stared out into the city. "You're here." He whispered so that only he could here. "You're here, aren't you?" He almost smiled and pulled his hood over his head again to hid his face. "I wonder how much you've grown _dobe_."

End Chapter Twelve

OOOOO

Rider: (Finally yanks head out of the ground, glares at wraiths and star) You guys are so lucky this is only rated PG13.

Star: What would you be able to do anyway?

Rider: Geh…not worth the effort at the moment. (Turns to readers) So, what do you guys think? As you can likely tell, lots of set up for things to come. I'd love to hear any suggestions, comments, concerns, and criticisms you guys may have. So if you have a free moment, please leave a little something for me to read so I can make the story better.

Wraiths: So we all done here?

Rider: Yeah, I guess so. _Matta ne minna_!

Wraiths: Later people.

Star: Bye everyone!


	13. Hidden

Rider: _Konichiwa Minna-san_! Hope those of you who celebrate had an enjoyable Turkey day. So, um, yeah. This chapter was a royal pain to write, this is actually the fourth or fifth version of it. Originally it was going to just jump right into the exam and have a lot of flash backs to explain how it got to this point, but it just got way to convoluted.

Wraiths: You're telling me. That first run was rough.

Rider: (grumbling) Didn't need to be quite so condescending there buddy…(Back to readers) Anyway, thanks to those who have reviewed. And thanks to everyone who either put my on an alert or a favorite, cause there were a lot of those. (Looks around) Um, I get the feeling I've forgotten something.

Star: _Baka. _You had a special thank you to take care of.

Rider: Oh yeah. A while back I asked for a bit of help with how to conduct the exams, so thanks to everyone who gave me a suggestion. That said, if you're still reading, a very big thank you goes out to Cannis Black. While I didn't use his idea exactly as he suggested it, it was the point of inspiration that got me to what will ultimately be seen. So again, big time Thank you. Ok, no more rambling. Please enjoy your reading. (bows and leaves)

OOOOO

Disclaimer: (Insert your own tired joke here. I can't think of one this time.) I don't own Naruto.

A Shinobi's Decision

Chapter Thirteen: Hidden

Kakashi slowly opened his eye and rolled his head from side to side to stretch the kinks out of his neck. It didn't take long to fully come aware of his surroundings again, though he knew nothing had changed anyway. It wasn't a skill that was taught at the academy, but all _jounin_ picked it up if they survived long enough. The ability to maintain a half-sleep state to recover their stamina and still remain aware of their surroundings came in quite handy on long term solo missions.

He tipped his head back to lean against the wall and sighed softly. Of course it had it's drawbacks as well. You didn't get a complete nights sleep to gain a full recovery and as a result small changes in the psyche could occur over long periods of time from accumulating mental exhaustion. It was part of the reason that Kakashi and Asuma always had bored or distracted look on their expressions. Kakashi kept himself awake and alert by reading his favorite novels. Asuma through the use of the nicotine in his cigarettes. Kurenai was still newer to the _jounin_ ranks, so she hadn't quite reached the same state just yet. Kakashi suspected that would change in the next few years. As for Gai…Kakashi just shook his head, attributing the spandex clad man's ever present energy to a chemical imbalance in his brain.

Kakashi allowed himself a small yawn and rose from where he sat beside the door that connected their room to the hallway. Most shinobi thought to sleep in front of the door believing it to be the most defensible spot in the room. Kakashi had seen many comrades stabbed through the door and adopted the side method for himself for better protection. "Not that it had mattered last night." He thought silently as he recalled the barely detectable footsteps that had been outside the door. "Someone sent a team to investigate us." He slid the door to the adjacent room open. "But they backed off quickly. Either they knew I was there and thought twice about pressing their luck…" He frowned slightly. "Or our team didn't have whatever it was they were looking for."

He paused as he stood in the door way where his team was still supposed to be sleeping. Yet of the three futons that were in the room, only one was still occupied. It didn't take much more than a quick glance at the pink hair for Kakashi to identify who the sleeping ninja was. He glanced at the other futons again. One was neatly made and looked like it hadn't been slept in at all. "Sai…" Kakashi thought quietly as he moved to the other bed roll which was still messy and the covers thrown haphazardly on top. "Naruto…" He mused with a small smirk as his gaze fell to the small desk in the room.

"What have we here?" Kakashi whispered as he inspected the various scrolls and textbooks that littered the tabletop, raising his eyebrow slightly at the subject material. "Some of this is very basic, but others…" He picked up one of the scrolls for closer examination. "Very advanced tactical material here." He glanced over at Sakura again. "But she should know all this already. At least from a textbook perspective…" Kakashi moved through the next set of doors, which lead to the small open air balcony, and leaned against the door jam as he studied his other student.

Naruto crouched on the metal hand rail that outlined the little walkway. His hands lightly clutched the rail between his feet and his gaze fell lazily on the city below them. His jacket was unzipped and fluttered lightly behind him in the early morning breeze, as did his untamable golden hair. Were it not for the first faint rays of the rising sun reflecting off the exposed emerald pendent around his neck, one could get the impression of a fox lying in wait from watching the boy. "Morning Kakashi-sensei."

The silver hair _jounin_ stepped forward and leaned against the railing. "Good morning Naruto. Couldn't sleep?"

Naruto shook his head lightly, but still continued to scan the city. "No, I've been up for a while now. I wanted to review for a while before we head off for the exam."

Kakashi blinked lazily. "Review for what?"

"I got to thinking about what Iruka-_sensei_ said at the end of the Forest of Death." Naruto replied. "If you lack Earth, run through the fields and grow strong. If you lack Heaven…"

"Study hard and gain knowledge." Kakashi finished. "Commendable effort, if a bit late."

Naruto shrugged. "I know that the first part of the exam is going to be a paper test, and that the real objective is to see how developed our spying abilities are." He frowned slightly. "Still, I remember how scared I was when I thought it was an actual paper test. I don't want to be that unprepared again.

Kakashi smiled. "You really have grown Naruto." He followed Naruto's gaze again but still was unable to understand what Naruto was seeking out. "What are you looking for?" He finally asked as his curiosity got the better of him.

"I'm…" The blonde sighed. "I'm not really sure. I…" He frowned a bit. "I kind of had this dream last night…"

Knowing how quickly a distracted ninja could become a dead ninja, Kakashi decided to continue the conversation, hoping to have it resolved before the exams began. "What kind of dream?"

"Do you remember…when you found me? At the waterfall I mean?" Naruto asked.

Kakashi nodded solemnly. "When I first saw you from up above with Pakun, I thought you were dead."

"I think for a moment…I was." Naruto frowned. "I saw this really old memory right as Sasuke and I attacked for the last time." He paused a few moments as he recounted the event to himself. "I don't know if anyone else knows, but after Itachi went _nukenin,_ Sasuke always went to the lake just outside the Uchiha compound and would just stare into the water for hours on end."

Kakashi listened silently, not wanting to interrupt Naruto's story. It was something from long before Kakashi had been Sensei to either of them. Though he knew much of their histories, this was one aspect he did not know anything about. He simply nodded, indicating for Naruto to continue.

"I know that looking back, my motive was less than completely honest." Naruto admitted. "I thought he was like me now, someone who had nothing anymore. I thought for sure that now I'd be able to make a friend for the first time." He smiled weakly. "But when I got there, and I saw him sitting on the dock while I was on top of the hill…I realized how selfish that idea was. I couldn't approach him. I walked away."

"Was that what's been bothering him?" Kakashi thought silently. "That he abandoned Sasuke so long ago?"

"But I kept coming back." Naruto continued quickly. "I'd stand on that hill and simply watch him, only leaving once he turned around and look at me." He smiled. "But each time it would take him longer and longer to turn around. I thought it was because I was getting better at hiding my presence." He paused. Though the smile remained, there was a quality of hidden sadness behind it now. "But in reality it was because he didn't turn around. He wouldn't admit it now, but I think he wanted me there." He shook his head again. "I don't know how long it took, or even why it happened or what was said. Just…one day he came up the hill and we made promise and walked away from each other in opposite directions."

"You've had Sasuke on your mind a lot in the past few months…" Kakashi began.

Naruto shook his head. "That's just it. He has been on my mind, but I haven't had any dreams about him. But…that's not the weirdest part." He continued after a small nod from his teacher. "It wasn't part of the memory, that's how I knew it was a dream. As we were walking away from each other, we both started to grow up…to look like I do now and what I picture Sasuke would look like now. I don't think we ever turned around, but somehow we ended up walking towards one another again. We still continued to grow up, like we were even older than we are now. It continued right until we faced each other again." He finally turned away from the city and faced Kakashi.

The former ANBU captain hid it well, but he was shocked by what he saw in Naruto's eyes. Naruto had steeled his expression as best a thirteen year old boy could, but just behind that mask Kakashi could see the fear in his large blue eyes. Even on the missions where he whined about the threat of ghosts, he hadn't shown genuine fear this clearly.

"He pulled a giant katana from his belt, like the one _hebi-teme_ used on Hokage-_jijii_, and held it to my throat. I pulled a kunai and held it to his throat." Naruto finally finished.

Kakashi now understood why Naruto was so shaken. "What happened after that?"

"It ended there. I woke up." Naruto admitted. "But still…"

"It was just a dream Naruto." Kakashi interrupted. "You mind playing tricks on you as you slept, playing on your worse fears. It doesn't mean anything more than that."

"YOU ARE MY FRIEND! AA, ANO HI NO YUME…IMA DEMO MADA WASURETENAIN DESHOU?"

The two men turned as they heard the alarm clock go off, followed by a series of mumbles and grumbles as Sakura turned it off. She sat up slowly and looked out the open door at her teacher and teammate, clearly still not fully awake. "Hmm? Something wrong?"

Kakashi almost blinked at how quickly Naruto's expression changed. It slightly worried him that the boy could shift between personalities like that. It wasn't natural in a boy so young.

"Nothing at all Sakura-_chan_!" Naruto replied with one of his trademark smiles. "Just a few last minute pointers before the exam begins." He jumped down from the railing, still smiling. "Why don't you go wash up and we'll grab some breakfast along the way."

If Sakura had been a bit more awake, she would have known that Naruto was hiding something. For better or worse, Sakura had never been much of a morning person. "Right…breakfast…" She mumbled as she grabbed her few toiletries and headed for the washroom.

"You should get ready as well." Kakashi mentioned as he walked back into the room. "I'll go get Sai. Can't enter you guys in the exam without three people after all."

Naruto nodded and turned to look out at the city. "I know he said it was just a dream, but I don't think that was all it was." He walked into the room with one last glance over his shoulder. "You're here, aren't you _teme_?"

OOOOO

"The team is in place?" Asked the Falcon-masked ANBU.

The Cat-masked ANBU nodded and a muffled chuckling could be heard. "You worry too much Sasuke-_kun_."

"And I told you not to use my name Kabuto." The smaller figure hissed irritably. "Yet you seem unable to do even that small task, so why should I trust you to do things of even greater importance?"

"You shouldn't speak so recklessly." Kabuto replied with a small hiss of his own. "Orochimaru-_sama_ might have you as his current favorite, but I have been his second in command for a very long time…"

"Spare me your idle threats." Sasuke cut him off. "You know as well as I that you can't beat me in a fight anymore, and even if you could you wouldn't risk damaging me for risk of Orochimaru's punishment." The two masked men stared at each other for a few minutes in silence before Kabuto turned away. Behind his mask, Sasuke smirked. "Good, now that that is out of the way we can move on to the real mission. Your team is preparing the summoning seals correct?"

"A few kilometers outside the eastern entrance we came through last night." Kabuto pointed in the general direction of the afore mentioned gate. "The land in that area is best suited for the large summons that we will be needing to transport our 'cargo' after they're acquired. It was fortunate that was our point of entry, no one else saw us along that route so we don't have to worry about excess people knowing about our movements."

"I'm not concerned with the prying eyes of others." Sasuke shrugged. "There are more than enough ways to deal with such situations."

"We don't want to draw too much attention to ourselves." Kabuto reminded him. "At least not at this stage of the mission."

Sasuke nodded, but suddenly pushed Kabuto back into the shadows before concealing himself as well. He held a finger to his mask's beak to indicate the need for silence. His mask turned toward the street once more, watching as a flash of orange rounded the corner and out of sight. "So…" Sasuke smirked again. "He really is here."

Kabuto frowned behind his mask. "I guess you'll have two missions to carry out now."

Sasuke nodded. "There's no rush though. He will make it to the finals, we'll have at least a month to fully evaluate his growth."

"You speak of Naruto-_kun_ like he's a potential subject…" Kabuto spoke in a low tone. "Rather than your assassination target."

Sasuke's smirk vanished, not that Kabuto could see it. "My mission. I'll decide how I handle it."

Though he couldn't see Sasuke's expression, he could hear the change in his tone. He smiled smugly. "Of course…Sasuke-_kun_. I would never second guess one of your decisions."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Just wait you sniveling worm." He thought silently. "I will have to kill Orochimaru out of necessity, but you…" He moved through the streets of Kumogakure leaving Kabuto behind. "You I will kill for daring to think you have any power over me." Through the use of a _ Shushin no jutsu_ he vanished from sight towards destination unknown.

OOOOO

Naruto looked around the open exam hall with more than a wary eye. "I see now what you meant about not being on our home turf any more. There were so many leaf insignia around last time, now we're the small team."

Sakura nodded. "Yeah, still there are some familiar faces around." She pulled out a small package from her hip pouch as she caught momentary sight of Daiki with his team across the way. She hadn't thought to look at what he had given her at the gate yesterday. She opened the package and blinked at the contents. "Chunin combat gloves?" She traced the metal plating that covered the back of the hand and knuckles with her finger. Though they didn't have the Leaf insignia like the true combat gloves from her village, they were indeed marked. On the left hand was the kanji for life, on the right the kanji for death. She smiled lightly. "The quote he asked me about…" She tucked the gloves back in her hip pouch, figuring she wouldn't need battle gloves for the paper test. She glanced around the room once more, but could no longer see her cousin. "_Arigatou ne_." She whispered.

Kiba leaned over Naruto's shoulder and pointed towards the far side of the room. "That creepy guy from _Suna_ is here as well. I thought he got promoted after that mission they helped us on."

"Must have run into some trouble with the council of his village." He scoffed lightly. "Wonder what that could be about…" Naruto shrugged his shoulder in an attempt to dislodge Kiba. "Get off, you smell like wet dog!"

"Hey! Shut up!" Kiba shoved Naruto playfully. "I just took a shower!"

"Which is why you smell like wet dog!" Naruto shot back as he began to shadow box with the other boy.

Sakura shook her head, though she did smile. "Typical Naruto."

Sai looked up from his book and put his calligraphy brush away. "What do you mean Sakura-_san_." He was careful how to address her this time. He had called her by the same nickname the blonde female had used, and been promptly run through a wall before he could mount a defense.

"Naruto basically declared himself an enemy to everyone at the last exam." Sakura recalled. "Helps him to break the stress or something I guess." She pointed a thumb to where Naruto and Kiba were still fighting, loudly. "He doesn't even realize he's doing it, but everyone in the room now knows who he is." She shrugged her shoulders. "For better or worse."

"Seems like the actions of an idiot if you ask me." Hanabi muttered just loud enough to be heard by the others.

Hinata pushed her fingers together in front of her face nervously, unable to stop herself even though she thought she had broken that habit. "_Ano_, Hanabi-_chan_…you shouldn't talk about people like that."

"And who's going to stop me?" Hanabi jeered. "You?"

"I'm going to kill her." Ino ground her teeth and the vein at her temple was throbbing. "Seriously, does anyone want to trade teammates?"

Choji wisely chose to remain silent and continued to each his potato chips. As another chip made it's way to his mouth, he stopped and his eyes narrowed.

Shino caught the change in movement as well. He shifted slightly, but made no serious overt movement. "Naruto."

Naruto turned from his mock spar with Kiba just in time to see a team of _Oto-nin_ moving towards them. He frowned a little at them, but made no move toward them of any kind.

"Well, well." Sneered the leading ninja. "Looks like those weaklings from Konoha sent some little wannabe ninjas after all."

"Who the hell are you calling weak?" Naruto snarled. "We trashed you guys even when you had the element of surprise! What kind of shinobi does that make you? You even had that snake worshiping freak on your side and still lost!"

A girl in the back laughed loudly. "You didn't beat us, we just had inferior allies who screwed things up for us."

"So we're inferior now are we?" Demanded a female voice as a heavy metal fan slammed the ground cracking the floor tiles.

"You didn't think we were so useless at the time." Continued the man dressed in all black and covered in face paint. "In fact I remember Karasu taking quite a few of you out in a demonstration to your leader."

The Sound ninjas seemed to turn as one and, if their reactions were any indication, they clearly knew who they were facing. "_Sabaku no Kankuro tou Sabaku no Temari_…" They all seemed to whisper in unison.

"Your people tried to use me." The low, cold, voice cut though the Sound ninjas. "Yet even after threatening his most precious people, even after he saw what a really was, the man before you offered me friendship."

The lead Oto-nin gasped as he saw small particles of sand begin to float through the air around him. "No way…you're not supposed to be here." His eyes glanced to the side were the previously unseen red haired ninja with a giant gourd now stood. "_Sabaku no Gaara_…"

Gaara's eyes narrowed on the three ninjas. "I owe Uzumaki much, while I owe your village only a debt of vengeance…"

"Gaara." Naruto's voice rang through the tension in the air. Clean, calm, commanding. "We can't fight until the proctors say so. Don't get tossed out of here for these losers." The blonde's lips curled into a smirk that was rarely seen. "We'll get them during the exams."

Sakura shivered as she saw this new side of her teammate. It was something Sasuke would say, even how he said it. "Has Naruto…always had this kind of presence?" She wondered to herself. "Is this new to him? The result of all his training? Or…have I simply been unable to see it?"

Gaara nodded, grudgingly. "Fine, I doubt their blood will add much to my sand anyway. Your lives are spared for now." The sand that circled the ninjas slowly retreated back into his gourd. "We'll meet again."

By this time all eyes in the exam room were on the small scuffle. A second team of Sound shinobi moved to assist their comrades. "Problem?" Asked the second leader.

The first leader shook his head. "N-no, we're all good." He glanced at Naruto once more. "Like the twerp said, can't fight until the judges give the ok."

The second sound shinobi nodded to his teammates to escort the first team to a safer distance. He then turned to Naruto. "You're him aren't you?" An arrogant smirk crossed his face. "The loud mouth loser who couldn't recover the _nukenin_ that became Orochimaru-_sama's_ newest toy."

Naruto's fists griped tightly at his sides. "Why you…"

The smirk seemed to grow as he watched Naruto get angry. "What was it he said again?" He brought his finger to his temple. "Oh yeah, I remember now. He said, 'How did I let those losers slow me down? Especially that _dobe_? How disgraceful.'" He continued to grin. "You should see him now. Sasuke-_sama_ has as much respect as Orochimaru­-_sama_ among the rest of us. You'd never be able to touch him now. If you even knew where to look…"

"Shut your damn mouth!" Naruto's fist rose in preparation to slug the man in front of him as his anger got the better of him. Consequences meant nothing, he'd find a way to get Sasuke back no matter what. All movement in the room stopped as two bursts of flame came up around Naruto.

Between Naruto and the Oto shinobi stood a young girl. Her dark brown hair reached just above her shoulders and was tied back into a single tail. Her skin was lightly bronzed and her eyes were an equally deep brown with the occasional glint of golden color as the light sparkled off them. Her outfit was equally simple consisting of black cargo style pants and an short sleeved camo-green tee-shirt. The only insignia of any kind, two sais that crossed and were wreathed in black flames and smoke, was at the very top of her collar at the back of her neck. Her forehead protector sat crookedly on one side of her forehead, the symbol like none Naruto had ever seen before. She smiled deceptively at the Oto-nin. "You're going to want to back off now. Ok?"

The sound shinobi looked down as he felt something tap against his inner thigh. He swallowed hard as he saw the kunai pressing dangerously close to some rather sacred anatomy. Even as he backed away, the weapon vanished with surprising speed.

Naruto glanced back at the figure that held his wrist, preventing him from throwing his punch. The form was decidedly that of a young woman, but that was about all that Naruto was able to discern about her. The girl was covered in ninja wraps from head to toe, no skin was visible of any kind. Her hair was tied back and wrapped tightly with dark blue ribbon so that the color could not be viewed. "Even her eyes are covered." Naruto wondered silently. "How can she see?" He glanced over her clothing, trying to determine something about her based on that. Plain, pocket-less, dark blue pants and a baggy long sleeved shirt that reached past the ends of her fingers. He also noticed that her perfectly set forehead protector had the same insignia. It sort of looked like a cross between the _suna _and _iwa_ symbols to Naruto. "Who are these guys?" He wondered again.

The Oto shinobi turned and began to walk away. "This ain't over Blondie."

Naruto roughly shook off the girl's hold on him. "Count on that."

"Neji." Tenten whispered. "We're they…"

The male Hyuuga nodded. "Yes, that's them. Lee?"

"Nothing." The green clad gennin responded. "I thought it was Shushin at first because of the flame effect, but it was pure speed."

Sakura stared at the tan skinned girl for a moment. "You're the ones from yesterday. Daiki's teammates. But at the gate…" She trailed off as she remembered what the girl had signaled before vanishing. "Why'd you help us?"

The tan girl made a scoffing noise and turned to face Sakura. "We didn't help you, we just don't want to get eliminated yet."

Sakura blinked in confusion before she followed the girls eyes. Daiki stood in the corner leaning against the wall. Though he appeared calm to everyone else, Sakura could see the same veiled anger he had shown the night they'd all rescued Hinata. "He would have killed the other ninja, and your team would have been disqualified." She turned back to the girl. "For what it's worth, thank you. You save our team from elimination as well."

The girl sneered at Sakura. "Don't you dare thank me. I told you I didn't do it for you." She moved in close to Sakura, smiling as she gasped. "As soon as I figure out how to release him from whatever _genjutsu_ you managed to catch him in…" She leaned in close to whisper in Sakura's ear. "I'm going to gut you like a cheap fish." She turned and walked away, her teammate following her silently.

"Hey." Sakura called after her. "What's your name?"

"You're not going to live long enough to use it." Was the only reply.

Sakura looked down at her dress and lightly rubbed the small hole that had been cut into the fabric at the belly. "She moved so quickly." She thought. "The kunai was pressed between us…"

"Sakura-_chan_."

Naruto's voice broke Sakura from her thought. "_H-hai_?"

"You've seen her trick now." Naruto smiled at her. "You won't get caught by it again, right?"

The pink haired kunoichi smiled despite her reservations. She wasn't sure if it was his smile being infectious, or that his words sounded so much like those spoken by another at the last exams. "Of course I saw it. No way I'll fall for it again."

"All right! That's enough." Called a woman's voice as the front of the room filled with smoke. "Shut up before I start cracking skulls!"

Naruto shivered as he heard the woman's tone. "Sounds like that crazy Anko woman from the second exam." He whispered, gaining a nod of agreement from Sakura.

As the smoke cleared a woman dressed in shinobi battle armor appeared. Her wavy, dirty-blonde hair reached just past her shoulders and covered most of the right side of her face. Her black eyes almost completely masked her pupils, only the refraction of the light revealed the subtle difference. Strapped to her back a daikatana could be easily seen. Behind her a number of secondary examiners were also coming into sight as the smoke continued to dissipate. "Listen well cause I don't like repeating myself for lowlifes like you! _Watashiwa Raikuro Mao_! As of now I own every single one of you! Grab your gear and follow me to the first exam point!" The various gennin in the room looked around in shock the Mao's instructions and whispered questions began to float through the room. A moment later, black bolts of lightening flashed through the room.

Naruto grabbed Sakura and dove to the ground as a few bolts came way to close for his liking. He looked around and saw that most of the other participants in the room were doing much the same. The exceptions being the shinobi too slow to react and getting thoroughly shocked. The other exception was Gaara, who let his sand shield absorb most of the blows for him. He tapped Sakura and pointed to the front of the room.

Mao swung the longer than average katana and the black lightening dissipated. "What part of shut up or I crack skulls didn't you maggots understand!?" She quickly sheathed the blade and turned on her heel, heading for the door at the other side. "Now follow quietly or fail! You will not get a second warning!"

Naruto and Sakura both raised an eyebrow to this. "That was a warning?" They thought silently. Though they couldn't know it at the time, everyone in the room was thinking the same thing. Naruto quickly jumped to his feet and helped the other Konoha shinobi up as well where needed. He nodded once toward the exit, grinning as the others all nodded back at him. Individual teams were for the moment were forgotten as they all moved toward the start of their tests as one large team.

OOOOO

"Kakashi, put that thing away before I rip it to shreds."

Said _jounin_ looked up from his book and into the very angry red eyes of a certain _genjutsu_ mistress. He also heard more than enough steel in her voice to know this was no idle threat. He laughed lightly and put the book away into his hip satchel. "_Gomen_. Seems I'm still not quite used to large group sit downs like this."

Asuma laughed lightly as he tapped his cigarette into the ash tray. "You should find another habit Kakashi."

Kakashi's visible eyebrow raised. "Like coating my lungs in tar?" He glanced over to where Gai was going around challenging other _jounin_ from various villages to arm wrestling contests. "Or something like that?"

Asuma shrugged his shoulders lightly. "Maybe if you started smoking you'd gain enough attention you wouldn't need those books anymore." He grinned lightly as he glanced side long at Kurenai. "No one wants to admit it, but there is something about smoking that makes you cool in the eyes of the fairer sex."

"Is there now?" Kakashi blinked in surprise as he saw a faint blush rise on Kurenai's cheeks. "I'll have to keep that in mind. Though the mask may be a bit of a problem…"

Kurenai chuckled at the dumb joke before continuing to scan the dinning room of the tea house they had all decided to eat at while they waited for the first two portions of the exam to be over. "Its funny, I didn't notice it when we hosted the exams, but there's a lot of very serious competition at these things."

Asuma looked around at the large number of _jounin_ that were either eating quietly or conversing with other members of their village teams. "It's good though. If we see the good competition here, there's a good chance that the kids will see good competition as well."

Kakashi nodded. "If they can keep their cool under these situations there will be no room for doubt their ready for promotions. It's easy to think you're top dog in your own back yard. Very different in someone else's." He closed his eye. "How long to you plan to listen in on us anyway? It's rather annoying."

"Hard not to listen in when you talk so loud." Replied the man at the table next to theirs. "Even more when you have no one to talk with yourself." He turned around to face the three _jounin_ from Konoha. "Ayumu Junko."

Kurenai studied the man for a moment. He was muscular, but she doubted that he had the same kind of power that Gai had. His red-brown hair was a close buzz cut to the point he was nearly shaved bald. His eyes were a fair blue color, even paler than Ino's, looking almost white at times. He wore a sleeveless brown shirt with his torn and tattered tactical vest over it along with simple black ninja pants. She paused as she came to his _hitai-ate_ which rested around his neck much the way Hinata wore. "I don't recognize your crest. It looks almost like an active volcano. Which village are you from?"

"_Engakure_." Kakashi spoke clearly. "The Village Hidden in the Flames." He opened his eye and glanced at Junko at last. "I take it that you're Daiki's _jounin-sensei_ then?"

Junko scratched his nose indifferently. "Acting _sensei_, nothing more than that. If it wasn't for the fact the guidelines of the exams saying they needed an official _jounin-sensei_ I wouldn't even be here."

Asuma took a long puff of his smoke. "You don't like leading a _gennin_ team?"

"Daiki doesn't listen to anyone anymore." Junko shrugged again. "Not since that day." He looked over at Kakashi pointedly with the last comment. "His old sensei sort of got through to him but…eh…death makes it hard to give orders."

Asuma nodded in understanding. "You're a back up."

"What happened to their last team leader?" Kurenai asked, even knowing that asking about missions was considered a taboo in the ninja profession. Even more so when someone died in action. Still, the boy was having a significant impact on her own student. Kurenai needed to know more about him just in case things turned bad at some point.

Junko shrugged. "They got assigned a mission. Client lied about the parameters of the mission. _Sempai_ made the ultimate sacrifice to keep his team alive and safe." He scratched his face. "None of them took it well. Daiki least of all." He sighed. "Made him a lot stronger in the end though, so at least something came out of it. I tag along on missions, but he leads the team." He leaned forward and rested his elbows on the table. "I hope your teams are well prepped for the survival and combat portions of the exam. Otherwise things may get ugly."

Kakashi felt himself stiffen as his hand shifted near his kunai pouch. "Is that a threat?"

Junko didn't move other than his eyes to lock with Kakashi's. "Not from me big guy. I have no more love for the Leaf than others in my village, but I didn't have a lot to lose either. It's just business as normal to me." He sat back a little bit. "Simple truth is…I'm shocked your people got to him the way you did. He's never failed to eliminate a target after he came back from his training, yet you're still alive."

"Then what's the problem?" Kurenai pressed.

"Daiki wanted you guys dead. In a really bad way." Junko rose and dropped some cash on his original table. "Then he one eighty-ed real quick." He took a few steps away from the table but glanced over his shoulder at them. "The girls have never disobeyed his orders, but they lost a lot that day too. No telling if or when they might break away from him."

Asuma sighed as he watched the _En-nin_ walk away. "Great, we finally got one somewhat on our side, and now his two teammates might still be out to get us."

"And Daiki has undoubtedly told them about the plans for Kumo's sneak attack on us." Kakashi whispered. "They'd have the perfect setup to hit us in all the chaos and we'd be hard pressed to see it coming with everything else." He sighed. "Which reminds me, I have to tell you some other potentially disturbing developments."

Kurenai's brows furrowed. "What more could be going on?"

"You know my newest team member? Sai?" Kakashi responded. "He reports to Danzo."

"The head of the former ROOT division?" Asuma asked. "My old man told me stories about the guy, but I though he slipped into ornery retirement."

"Doesn't seem that way." Kakashi shook his head. "If anything, I think he may be planning a coup."

Asuma rubbed his temples. "Like we don't have enough to worry about."

"Let me get Gai." Kurenai rose from the table in search of the Taijutsu master. "Then you can tell us what you know."

OOOOO

"Welcome to Special Training Area Number Twenty Seven!" Called Mao as they came to a fenced off construct. "This will be the site of your first test!" She groaned and frowned as she saw a hand raise in the back. "What?!"

Sakura flinched a little. "_Ano_, isn't the first test supposed to be a paper exam?"

"Oi, pinky. You giving this exam?" Mao frowned. "No, you're not. So shut up and listen to directions." She scanned the crowd again. "Good. This area is known as Lightning Gorge, for obvious reasons." She smiled wickedly. "You underestimate it, you die." She waited a few moments to let this sink in amongst the newer participants. "Your assignment for this portion of the exam is this. There are drop points scattered through out the gorge. Some guarded, some not. Some hold real information that is of the highest importance, others hold falsified data. You're job is to be able to locate these drop points and recover those packets. Also, you must be able to discern what is good and what isn't, and then get it back to the rendezvous point with your team intact." She placed her hands on her hips. "The chunin examiners will be moving through the gorge as well to evaluate your abilities, but will not effect you in any other way. You will have five days to complete your missions. Oh, and there aren't enough info packets for all the teams present." Her smile widened. "Better not lose them. Now then, any questions?"

"Yeah!" Sakura yelled out again. "Why has the test been changed so drastically from last time!?"

"Fine." Mao frowned. "Since pinky wants to know so bad, the chunin guidelines only state that that certain areas must be tested. Namely espionage, survival, leadership, and combat qualifications." Mao glared at Sakura. "There is nothing that states how we must test. Just cause those other weakling villages just a wimpy paper exam to root out the unskilled doesn't mean we have to. Prove your worth or die."

"Oi! Watch your tone lady." Naruto stepped up. "We'll meet any challenge you can throw at us and come out heads above the rest. Don't underestimate us!"

Mao grit her teeth. "_Tsk_, cheeky little brat. Let's see if you're so boastful after the exam." She turned and motioned to the other examiners. "Get the gates ready!" She faced the gennin again as the other chunin vanished quickly. "Sign your damn death waivers and get to your start points!"

Naruto's grin just got wider. "Come on Sakura-_chan_, Sai. Let's show these guys what we can do."

Sakura frowned a bit, but nodded. "While it's true that we've only taken the exams once…" She thought silently as she looked around at other teams in the area that were decidedly older than they were. "Her change to the tests weren't received well, which means she changed a very long standing tradition. Even the Kumo gennin were surprised." She glanced over at Ino's team. "Something's up…to bad we don't have Shikamaru with us anymore. We could use his brain for this."

Neji moved closer to Hinata and lowered his voice. "I will stay close to Hanabi's team."

Hinata nodded. "Something is very wrong. You will be better suited to protect her if something does happen." She pressed something into his hand quickly. "Even so…"

Neji allowed one of his rare smiles to surface for his cousin as he tucked the seal tag into his hip pouch. "I will contact you if anything should happen."

Within minutes Naruto, along with the other teams, found themselves separated to different gates. He glanced to Sai, but didn't face the boy directly. "You never said what your skills are like." He began warily. "Do you have any kind of reconnaissance skills? Or any _jutsu_ that might let us cover more ground to search for these clues the proctor was talking about?"

Sai looked at Naruto a moment before tilting his head to one side slightly and letting his fake smile cross his face. "Actually yes. Would you like me to make use of it?"

Naruto nodded. "I don't like having to admit this, but I'm better suited for the combat and survival parts of this exam. Information gathering isn't my strong point." He glanced at Sakura. "Sakura-_chan_ is good at analyzing information and figuring out what will be useful and what won't be. So anything you find should go to her."

Sakura nodded, the plan was simple and logical. She frowned a bit since it was also very much unlike Naruto. "That's all well and good, but what are you going to be doing?"

"Once we get a fair distance in…" Naruto glanced around. "You know, I don't think this is the best place to talk about it."

Sai's eyes glanced back toward the chunin proctor. "You fear a repeat of last time?" He whispered in a low voice.

Sakura blinked at Sai's comment. "The last exams were infiltrated by Orochimaru." She whispered. "And there was something weird about that woman too." The kunoichi nodded slowly. "All right Naruto. We'll follow your hunch for now."

Naruto nodded, his eyes shifting as he saw the chunin reach for the release lever on the gate. "You guys ready?" He grinned as he saw them both nod. "_Yosh_…" He watched as the guard released the gate. "_Ikusei._"

The chunin guard looked around with a shocked expression on his face for a moment as the three _gennin_ vanished from sight. A moment later he felt the intense wind that blew past him and he grinned. "Good start." He leapt into gorge towards his first survey point. "Seems like some serious contenders this year."

OOOOO

Rider: So, what did everyone think? Good? Bad? Other? As always, if you have a moment, please leave a little something if you have the time. I like hearing what you guys have to say, plus it keeps me motivated to write quicker.

Star: He's also a review whore.

Rider: I hate you Star…

Wraiths: It is true though.

Rider: You know what, I don't like you two anymore. (turns back to readers) Ok, we'll leave you alone now. 'Till the next, live well all.

Wraiths: So long folks.

Star: _Sayonara minna_!

(All three bow and walk off)


	14. Trials and Tribulations

Rider: (is laying on ground staring at clouds)

Star: What's wrong with you?

Wraiths: He's been having rough week. Might be best to leave him be for now.

Star: That sucks, but it's good for us too.

Wraiths: What?

Star: He writes more when he's in a bad mood.

Wraiths: Oh yeah…maybe we should go bug him some more?

Rider: Both of you go away! So not in the mood! (Turns to readers) Yeah, anyway…please enjoy the story.

OOOOO

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did I wouldn't be concerned about failing organic chemistry again cause I'd live off the royalties for forever. So clearly, I'm boned twice over.

OOOOO

A Shinobi's Decision

Chapter Fourteen: Trials and Tribulations

Pulling the branch before her down ever so slightly, the young _kunoichi_ glanced out at the forest in search of her teammates. She turned quickly as light flashed into her eyes and instantly caught the source, a reflection off a kunai blade. She nodded once letting her partner know that she had the location noted. Her eyes narrowed as she saw the hand signals begin flashing rapidly to relay the information.

A raised index and pinkie finger. "Two targets…" She thought silently. Three and half waves of the right hand on an angle. "About thirty-five meters in the…two o'clock direction." The index finger, ring finger, and pinkie finger were held up. "Third target…" Five waves, straight up. "Fifty meters out at twelve o'clock." She grit her teeth and frowned in annoyance. "Of course they had to use a back sentry formation the same as us." She griped mentally as she turned and prepared to pass the information on to their final teammate at their rear guard. "Now I know why he always mutters that phrase." Her hands began to fly through seals she had used so many times before, but altered the last one slightly. "_Shintenshin no jutsu_." She whispered softly.

Choji rocked slightly in his hiding spot as he felt Ino enter his mind. "Problem?" He asked mentally.

Ino's mindscape construction nodded. "A team of _Kiri-nin_ are in front of us. Same type of formation we have. Hanabi managed to scout them out before they could see us, but I don't think we could take out the two of them before the third gets to us."

Choji nodded in understanding and was already moving. "Understood. Give me two minutes, then go ahead."

Ino nodded once again as her mental image faded from his mind. "Be careful Choji…"

Choji smiled as he raced through the forest undergrowth. No one would ever accuse him as being as fast as Lee or even Naruto, but he had conditioned himself well and moved with surprising speed for someone of his size and build. Forty-five seconds later he crouched behind a fallen tree as he observed the lone _kiri-nin_. "Doesn't look like a close combat type based on body structure." He assessed, remembering Shikamaru's lessons well. "_Genjutsu_ would be a problem if I get caught, and if he uses _ninjutsu_ it'll attract to much attention." He glanced at his watch, twenty seconds to go. "Best make it clean and fast." He crouch-ran, using the shrubbery for cover, and closed the distance to ten meters. His hands already completing the seals as he counted down.

"Three…two…one…_Baika no jutsu: Heika_." He whispered as his arms grew to gigantic proportions to stretch out over the remaining distance to his target. Choji almost smiled at the startled look on the _kiri-nin's_ face as he saw the two massive palm on either side of him. He had no time to call out as Choji brought his hands together, pancaking the unfortunate mist shinobi into painful unconsciousness. When he was certain there was no longer movement, Choji released his technique and hoisted the downed man over his shoulder before leaping off to rejoin his teammates. Less than a minute later he landed beside Ino. "We get anything worth while?" He asked with a smile on his face.

Ino finished securing her prisoner with the ninja wire she had pulled from her pouch. "Haven't had a chance to look them over yet." She glanced up at Choji. "Any trouble?"

Choji shook his head calmly. "You'd think guys who live in constant fog would have better honed senses though." He shrugged, causing his captive to fall to the ground inadvertently, and looked at the final member of their team. "You ok Hanabi-chan?"

"Of course." The pale-eyed girl jabbed a few more _tenketsu_ on her own target, ensuring he would not be moving for quite some time. "These weaklings are nothing before the someone of the Hyuuga clan."

Choji felt a few beads of sweat run down the back of his neck. "Even Neji wasn't quite this bad…" He thought silently.

"I am more interested in how you were able to receive our information so quickly." Hanabi continued as she turned her activated _kekkai genkai_ to the task of scanning the mist ninja for useful items. "You were barely in range of my _Byakugan_, I do not see how you could have been update so effortlessly."

"The new version of my _shintenshin_." Ino replied quietly as she searched her captive by more traditional means. "We discovered early on that the original either left me vulnerable to attack, or caused the target to faint even when successful." She shrugged and shook her head to notify the others that her man had nothing useful. "Not exactly a helpful technique that alerts people that you're spying on them. So with Shikamaru's and my father's help we found a way to change the way the way the transfer worked."

"This one has nothing." Hanabi's eyes narrowed as she turned away from the mist ninja and her bloodline went dormant again. "Changed in what way?"

"Rather than send my whole mind, I send half my consciousness." Ino pulled her canteen from her pouch and took a small sip. "That way I can protect my real body and gather or spread information without the other person being aware. They'll only know they're being possessed if I alert them to my presence."

Choji interrupted Hanabi's chance for a reply. "Hey! I got something." He called as he pulled a scroll from the mist ninja's jacket. "Maybe we'll finally get lucky?" He suggested hopefully as he handed the scroll to Ino.

Ino opened the scroll and began to examine it, a moment later she sighed. "Not this time I'm afraid."

Hanabi frowned. "This is the third one. What's wrong with it?"

"It's addressed to _Sandaime Kazekage_…of the renowned _Konohagakure_." Ino rolled the scroll back up and tucked it in her pouch. "Clearly a falsified document."

Choji nodded. "We already have two bad scrolls, why not just burn this one?"

"Just because we know they're bad doesn't mean others will." Ino replied as she began to look around. "If it comes down to it, we might be able to buy our way out of a confrontation we can't handle and it won't really cost us anything."

Choji nodded, and grinned. "You've been talking with Shikamaru a lot lately haven't you?"

Ino blushed lightly at the jab. "Hanabi…" She turned, eager to move the conversation away from that area. "Can you see anything that looks promising for our next route?"

"_Byakugan_." Hanabi intoned and the veins around her eyes gorged with extra blood and chakra. She frowned slightly as she saw someone at the very edges of her vision range before they pulled back. "Someone's following us…" She paused as she Choji and Ino tense and reach for their weapons. "They're still a ways off, but we should move now and plot our course as we go."

Ino nodded. "Lead the way Hanabi."

"I'll guard the back." Choji moved automatically into position. With a small nod from Hanabi, the three took to the trees and deeper into the forest filled gorge in search of their next data drop point.

OOOOO

Ten-ten glanced to her right for a moment and then back at the path before her. She didn't like the grim look in her teammate's face. "Neji…"

"_Nani_?" He didn't have to turn his head to know that Ten-ten was frowning, given his bloodline was fully active.

"What is it?" She asked softly, so as not to alert Lee who was a short distance ahead of them. "This exam is a cakewalk. Why are you so nervous?"

"I am not nervous." Neji replied calmly. "I am merely exercising caution."

Ten-ten had to fight hard not to roll her eyes at the comment. "Then why were you so mad when the proctor made us change gates?"

"There was no rule saying what gate we had to start at." Neji replied quickly. "I believe that the proctor was showing favoritism to the Cloud team he let take our place." He grimaced internally as he saw Ten-ten frown deeply at him.

"And it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that it moved us farther away from both your cousin's teams?"

Neji landed on the branch and stopped altogether, deactivating his _Byakugan_ as Ten-ten landed beside him. "You know my past. You know my thoughts of this village."

Ten-ten nodded. "Yeah, but that was a long time ago. _Kumo_ hasn't made a move against _Konoha_ since then, and they know that such an action now could lead to a war that they would definitely lose."

"They are not concerned with losing a war." Neji clarified quickly. "They want our eyes. Likely more so now than before because we not only killed one of their men, but tricked them by handing over my father's sealed corpse."

"And you wish to protect your cousin's flames of youth with your own." Lee crouched on the branch above his two teammates, having doubled back after realizing they were no longer following him. "Such actions are very noble Neji-_kun_. I would be honored to assist you in this very youthful task."

Neji looked up at the green clad young man with his usual stoic expression. Internally however he was debating whether he should thank him for his offer, or punch him for continuing to talk about youth even when Gai wasn't around.

Ten-ten smiled, as if she could see the debate going on inside Neji's head. "That goes for me as well. We've already found a good scroll, so we don't have to worry about searching wildly and I doubt that there are any teams in here that the three of us can't handle." She placed her hands on her hips and leaned forward slightly toward Neji. "So stop playing the 'island unto himself' and let your teammates help you." Her smile changed slightly, looking almost sad, as her eyes glanced away from his. "I told you that once already. Friends and teammates have to trust each other. So no more secrets, ok?"

"_Hai_!" Lee jumped down and grabbed both his friends up into powerful hug. "No more secrets between friends." A split-second later Lee found his face being squished between Neji's and Ten-ten's fists.

Neji quickly broke out of Lee's inhuman grip and gasped for air. "I will not be your surrogate for Gai_-sensei_." He coughed. "There will be no hugging or sunset ocean backdrops on this mission. Do you understand me Lee?"

Ten-ten repressed the giggle at Lee's trembling lip and comically over done tears. "He just needs some time to get used to it Lee." She soothed, knowing how the boy could get when their _sensei_ was slighted. "You and Gai-_sensei_ just need to keep working on him." She smiled brightly at him and clasped her hands behind her back, taking on the cutest pose she would allow herself to go down too. "What you do say we get going? We'll make it part of our training, to see how quickly we can find Hanabi and Hinata."

The tears vanished and Lee's eyes seemed to ignite into mini bon fires. "_Yosh_! If I can not find them by the end of the day, then I will do one thousand finger pushups." He turned and began to leap from tree to tree. "And if I can not find them by tomorrow I will do one thousand suspended sit-ups. And if…"

Neji glared daggers at Ten-ten as they began to flow their enthusiastic teammate. "You had to get him started?"

Ten-ten closed her eyes, sighed, and raised her hands in a semi-apologetic fashion. "At least he's easy to motivate?"

"So is Choji if you have a bag of potato chips." Neji shot back. "It's calming them down afterwards that's the problem."

Ten-ten giggled slightly, unaccustomed to Neji making jokes. She blinked as she watched Lee becoming smaller and smaller in the distance. "_Oi_! _Chouto matte yo_!" She growled under her breath as she was forced to increase her speed to catch up. She looked over at the now smirking Neji. "Not one word…"

OOOOO

He entered the bar and took a wary glance around, quite literally biting his tongue to keep from muttering his thoughts on the matter. That one little word still continued to bounce around in his skull however. "_Mendokusei_…"

He found a booth in the back of the dark, dank, and dingy room and nestled himself deep within the shadows. Thankfully, the bar was rather large and sparsely populated. True to the last few experiences, the drinking shinobi kept to themselves, giving him not a second glance. "Hopefully I learn something this time." He thought tiredly. "I'm tired of visiting all these establishments, I'd much rather just go watch the clouds." He pulled himself from his daydream, with some considerable effort, as he focused his attention at the group at the bar. "I'll have to thank Asuma-_sensei_ for teaching me to read lips, I'd never get anything audible from this distance."

"I'm telling you the kid suspects." Stated the first _kumo-nin._

The second man shot him a pointed glare. "Keep your voice down. You want to blow the entire plan to hell?" He took another large gulp of his beer. "Those damn pupil-less freaks have good vision, not psychic powers. The brat probably thinks you were playing favorites is all."

The first man shook his head. "You didn't see the way he looked at me. It was like he knew. If the girl with the buns hadn't pulled him away, I think he would have taken a swing at me."

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed. "Pupil-less freaks? Girl with the buns? Are they talking about Neji's team?" He wondered silently.

"At least the freak in the green didn't seem to know what was going on." The man continued as he drank again.

Shikamaru frowned and felt a few drops of sweat form at the side of his face. "Oh yeah…that would be Lee."

"Well for your sake…" The second man snapped. "You better hope they don't realize what's going on, or _Raikage-sama_ will have your head." He drank again and slammed his glass to the counter. He was quiet for a time as the bartender refilled his glass and only continued when the two men were along again. "He lost his brother cause of that mission, then got a bogus package in the settlement agreement."

Shikamaru let his eyes close for a brief moment as his mind began to put things into place. "_Mendokusei_…like I don't have enough to deal with?" He opened his eyes again quickly so as not to miss any other information.

"Who's in charge of the exam?" Asked the second man.

"Raikuro."

Shikamaru's eyebrow raised slightly as he saw the look of disgust cross the other man's face. "He doesn't seem to like this turn of events. Looks like I'll have to investigate this Raikuro guy as well."

"What's that look for?" Demanded the first man.

The second took a long drink, nearly draining his glass. "She's a loose canon is why." He frowned and rubbed his temples. "Did she release the trackers?"

"Yeah, ten minutes after the start." Replied the second.

Shikamaru stiffened. "This is beyond being troublesome now. I have to let Asuma-_sensei_ know about this." He rose from his seat and slowly made his way to the door as casually as possible. As he passed under one of the lights, his _hitai-ate_ flashed with the reflection and drew the attention of a few of the bar patrons, including the two he didn't want. He attempted to maintain his indifferent expression, but his eyes glanced to the two _kumo-nin_ for a moment.

The taller second man stood from his spot at the bar. "What the hell you looking at Leaf?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "Thought you were someone else. My mistake, sorry." He turned away and attempted to keep moving, only to stop as a small _raiton jutsu_ scorched the floor in front of him. "I was just looking for a spot to rest, I don't want any trouble."

The two cloud shinobi looked at each other for a minute before the second took the lead in walking toward Shikamaru. "You're in the wrong place then boy. Especially since my friend and I think you were spying on us."

Shikamaru held his ground, hoping to bluff his way out before the fight broke out. "What possible reason would I have to spy on a couple of shinobi in their off hours at a bar?" His lip twitched slightly as he saw the smaller first man pull a _kunai_ from his holster. "You really intend to go on with this?" He sighed and scratched the back of his head. "_Mendokusei…_" He began to shift into a defensive stance when the scene abruptly changed. He could only watch in confusion as a man at the bar swung his hand into the air, catching one of the cloud shinobi in the temple with his bottle.

"Hey barkeep!" The man called out loudly. "I wants another drink!"

Shikamaru blinked as the drunken man took out one of the attackers in his inebriated flailing.

"What the hell are you doing?" Demanded the other cloud shinobi. "I'll teach you to mess with us!" He lunged at the man with his kunai drawn.

Shikamaru ran though his options quickly, and all but one of his two hundred moves told him to make his way to the door. He grumbled his trademark phrase once as he began to make his hand seals. "_Kagemane…_"

The drunken man with the bottle at this point lost his balance from his wild movements and fell back off the bar stool. As he fell, his leg came up clumsily and kicked his would be attacker right in the teeth. A second later both men were on the floor.

The genius _chunin_ rubbed his temples in aggravation as he turned to the door. "I don't have time for this…" He muttered.

"Hey…"

Shikamaru stiffened as he heard the voice of the drunken man so close to him. A second later he felt the man's arm wrap around his shoulders as the other leaned heavily against him. He studied the man's close cut red hair and volcano symbol on his _hitai-ate_, as well as the scent of alcohol on his breath.

"Where you off to in such a hurry cutie?" The red head grinned and tried to wink at Shikamaru, though seemed incapable due to the amount of booze he had consumed. "Why don't you and I go hang out together for awhile?"

"I really doubt you're my type." Shikamaru complained as he tried to slip out of the man's grip.

The man smiled. "Aww, come on. I promise I won't do anything to compromise your virtue."

Shikamaru caught the way he stressed 'compromise', as well as the moment of clarity in his eyes. "Fine, it's to much trouble to turn you down again." The two quickly exited the bar and walked a few more blocks to make sure no one was following them. "You can get off me now." Shikamaru ordered.

The red head grinned and stood easily to walk normally. "How'd you know?"

"You don't reek anywhere near enough of alcohol to have been acting the way you were." The lazy _chunin_ replied. "Why'd you help me?"

"Maybe I was just bored." Junko replied casually. "Or maybe…" He stopped and let Shikamaru get a few steps in front of him. "I don't want to see those Hyuuga _chibi_ in danger."

Shikamaru spun, but only saw the faint wisp of flame remaining as the man vanished from sight and sense. Placing his hands in his pockets, he trudged down the street. He watched the roads enough to prevent crashing into anything, but his eyes had a glassy distracted look as well. "Seems Daiki has his own agenda in all of this as well." He turned down an unmarked street. "But it's clear now why Konoha's entry to the exams have been so troublesome. The _jounin_-_sensei_ and I need to talk." There was a small swirl of leaves and wind as Shikamaru vanished from the alley.

OOOOO

"Akamaru, you catch any scents?" Kiba whispered to the little dog in his jacket only to receive a small yip in response. He looked over at Shino and Hinata. "Says he can't smell anything threatening for the next three kilometers."

Hinata always marveled at how such a small response from the little canine could hold so much information. "Then we should continue moving, right?"

Shino raised his hand to halt their progression. "Wait." He looked up into the trees and focused on a small spider web, watching as the spider descended slowly by the silken thread. Holding out his hand he let the spider rest in his palm as he gazed at it's many eyes.

Kiba fidgeted slightly as he waited. He tried to give Shino the same professional courtesy he received, but watching his teammate "talk" with the bugs always weirded him out since there was no actual speech. "You know something we don't?" He asked as the spider began to crawl back up it's web.

Shino nodded. "We should seek shelter." His hand raised up and pointed at a far off point in the sky. "Spiders are very sensitive to electricity, especially the varieties found in Lightening country. I am told a very large storm is headed this way and will be upon us by nightfall."

"Just our luck." Kiba complained with more than a hint of sarcasm. "Barely a day into this and already going to get hit with one of the famed storms of _Kumo_." He scratched Akamaru's ears lightly with a small sigh. "I suppose trees would be a bad cover then. We should look for a cave, or Akamaru and I can dig a cover trench."

"We should hold out on the digging for now." Hinata suggested. "It is only the first day, we should save our strength for as long as possible." She found her fingers poking together nervously as her sight fell to the ground. "Especially since…"

Kiba sighed louder. "For the last time Hinata, it wasn't your fault."

"Be thankful that you didn't get hurt." Shino added.

Hinata swallowed down her disappointment in herself. "But we lost the scroll…"

"It was probably a dud anyway." Kiba snorted. "The fact that it was a seal trap that most _gennin_ would have completely missed means it was designed for elimination of any team, not just the weaker ones."

The pale-eyed _kunoichi_ could only nod slowly. It was true that her _Byakugan_ had likely saved them from elimination, if not their lives, but she still felt like a failure for not discovering it until it was to almost to late. "But we don't know for sure if it was a dud…" She finally whispered.

The team sat in silence for a moment until Shino rose and began to walk deeper into the forest. "The storm approaches."

Kiba followed after the other man, continuing to rub Akamaru's ears. He grinned at the little dog. "I think we're going to have to put you on a diet soon, you're getting heavy."

Hinata giggled as the dog gave what sounded like an indignant sounding bark. "He's growing up Kiba-_kun_, he's supposed to get heavier." She walked beside her friend and reach out to pat his pet on the head. "If his paws are any indication he's going to be…" She trailed off as she slowly dropped back from the group. The two boys turned to watch as Hinata took a few steps backwards, then forward again. "Do you guys feel that?"

Kiba blinked and looked to Shino, who simply shook his head, before returning to Hinata. "Feel what?"

The young Hyuuga took a few steps back again and crouched down. She ran her hands over the ground slowly with her palms down. She frowned and sank her fingers into the soil. "It's different…"

Shino raised an eyebrow. "Different how?"

"The soil is softer…" Hinata whispered. "Like it's been disturbed recently, but…" Her hand continued to dig gently. "It's packed tighter like…"

"Like someone was trying to cover something over?" Kiba finished as Hinata trailed off. He frowned as Hinata nodded. "I don't smell anything, maybe it was a wild animal in here that buried something."

Hinata's brows furrowed in thought for a moment. "_Byakugan_." Her vision cleared and extended as her bloodline engaged. "I don't believe it…" She didn't bother to look up at her friends as she could already see their reactions with her all-seeing eyes. "There's a network of tunnels down there." She rose and began to slowly track the tunnels as they veered off to the right. "It looks like there were some natural underground caves, but the connections between them are far to clean to be natural."

Kiba followed as he pulled Akamaru from his jacket, tossing the dog up into the trees. "Be our eyes from above." His order was calm, but left no room for argument. "We don't want to get ambushed while we investigate this." He sniffed the air a few times as his canine companion bounced off into the higher branches. "Scents are dispersing, moisture's rolling in fast."

Shino nodded as he felt his bugs beginning to scurry more rapidly beneath his skin. "Hinata?"

The girl pointed out toward the left as the tunnel blow them curved again. "About thirty meters that way." She raised her arm to stop Kiba as he tried to walk past her, pulling out two kunai with her other hand. The two weapons flew through the air with deadly accuracy as the first cut through a near invisible trip wire. The second embedded itself into a tree before a seal array flared into life as it's chakra flow was disrupted. "Ok, I don't see any more traps." Continuing to take the lead, Hinata began to search this new area.

Kiba shot a grin over at Shino. Though he couldn't see the boy's mouth, he could see a barely noticeable change in the shape of the insect master's cheeks, betraying the fact that he also had a small smile on his normally expressionless face.

Hinata, not having noticed her teammates reactions, sank down to her hands and knees to begin pushing dirt aside. "Kiba? Give me a hand please."

Though the _inu-nin_ complied, he raised his eyebrow slightly. "What?" He teased. "Shino can't get his hands dirty?"

"Your claws are better suited to cut through these roots." Hinata replied with a smile, knowing all to well the friendly banter Kiba would try to goad Shino with. After a few more minutes of digging they reached the treasure that Hinata sought. She fingered the rusted iron handle at the end of the thick chain. "This should open the tunnel entrance, but it could still be rigged with a trap." She looked over at Shino. "Could your bugs pull it while we retreat to a safe distance?"

Shino's only reply was the army of insects that began to flow out of his body towards the chain before he began to walk away. "Twenty meters should be sufficient."

Hinata nodded and the three leaf gennin took shelter behind some of the thicker trees in the area. Maintaining her enhanced sight on the entrance she nodded for Shino to pull the chain.

The sound of machinery whining to life washed over them instantly and Kiba had to cover his ears from the intensity of the sound. When the noise dissipated a few moments later he found himself staring at a large hole in the ground. His nose wrinkled in disgust as he moved nearer to it. "The air is stale and musty, like it hasn't been opened in a long time."

"It is possible that this is not an area intended for use by the exam participants." Shino remarked as the bugs returned to their living hive. "It is unlikely that anyone without Hinata's blood limit would have even discovered it."

"You think it's a trap?" Kiba leaned over and tried to peer into the deeper recess of the pit. "Or maybe just a waste of time for us? There may not be anything of use down there in terms of info scrolls."

Hinata shivered as she heard the distance rumble of thunder. "It may not have any scrolls, but it will give us shelter to the storm." She crouched at the edge of the opening. "We may find we can gain some ground even as the storm passes over us. Maybe reach an area that teams held up by the rains can't get to as quickly." She looked up at her two teammates. "If it's a dead end though, we'll lose a lot of time backtracking."

The three teammates exchanged glances before Kiba finally shrugged. "At the very least, it's shelter like you said. I say we take it." He grinned as the others nodded. "All right, since it's underground there's a danger of natural gas, so no flames. I'll take lead since I'll be able to pick up the fainter concentrations before it gets to dangerous if that happens." He looked at Hinata. "You'll go second. I'm going to rely on you to guide me in the dim light since your vision obviously trumps my own."

Hinata nodded. "_Hai, wakarimashita._"

Kiba turned to Shino. "Your bugs can lay down a scent trail right?"

Shino nodded curtly.

"Good. Then since you're at the rear, have them mark where we've been in case we get lost down there and need to find our way back." He gave one last visual check to his two partners. "Ready?" He whistled loudly as they nodded and felt Akamaru land on his head as he jumped into the darkness. "Ok, let's see where this take us."

Hinata followed after him, and noticed for the first time since the start of the exam that she no longer felt like she was being watched. "Have they already begun?" She questioned silently.

Shino cast one last survey of the forest before shoving his hands roughly into his pockets and following after his teammates.

OOOOO

"_Owarida_!" The _kusa-nin_ grinned sadistically as he fell upon the his target knocking them both to the ground. His eyes glinted as he saw the look of horror on the blonde fool's face and plunged his kunai through the horrendously colored orange jumpsuit and into his heart. Needless to say he was confused as he was rewarded with a plume of smoke rather than the sticky flow of blood he had come to expect. "What the fu…" His question was interrupted as a fist collided with his face, sending him further into the dirt.

"Looks like the plan is working pretty well." Sakura grinned as grass shinobi didn't rise again, her sights turning to his startled teammates. "Guess you guys are next."

"We're not going to fall for that trick a second time!"

Sakura only grinned wider as she watched the man begin forming hand seals. "Awe…to bad. To slow."

The grass shinobi didn't even have time to consider her words as Sai slammed the hilt of his sword into the back of the man's neck. "This one is neutralized." He informed in a strained monotone voice, before a small smirk grew and widened quickly. "Man…" Sai complained. "How does he say stuff like that so straight faced?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Worry about that later. We have to take out the last one."

Sai nodded and looked up into the trees. "You or me?"

Sakura shrugged her shoulders. "_Ni hito rendan_?"

After a small nod Sai and Sakura leapt up into the trees were a startled grass-nin crouched frozen, still scared stiff from watching his two teammates taken out so effortlessly. The poor first time _gennin_'s eyes shifted between Sakura and Sai. "W-wait…"

"_Shannaro_!" Sakura yelled as she uppercut the stammering ninja, launching him towards Sai.

Sai caught the boy in the gut with a powerful roundhouse kick that sent him plummeting towards the ground once more. As he landed beside the now unconscious ninja he looked over at his _kunoichi_ partner. "Did you really just say that?" An incredulous tone clearly taking dominance in his voice.

Sakura put her hands on her hips. "What? She says it all the time! I wanted to see what it would be like!"

Sai shook his head. "You're weird."

Sakura frowned and grunted before disappearing in a cloud of smoke, revealing Naruto in her place. "Well, you're me. So I guess that makes you weird too!"

Sai vanished in a poof of smoke, giving rise to another Naruto. "Whatever. Let's see if they have anything."

The first Naruto nodded and began to examine the bodies of their fallen enemies Determining there was nothing of use on the first body after a few minutes he moved to the final figure. "Any luck?"

The second Naruto shook his head. "Looks like they haven't had any luck."

The first Naruto blinked and wrinkled his nose as he pulled a small book from the last man's satchel. "This kid is younger then us, what's he doing with a book like Kakashi-_sensei's_?"

"Guess he's a pervert in training." The second replied. "Any scrolls?"

"None." The first replied with a sigh. "What do we do now? We're not much good without a third."

"Guess we just dispel ourselves." The second replied with a shrug. He grinned as he glanced over at the fallen ninja. "Hey? How pissed off do you think they'd be if they knew they got beaten by a team of _kage bunshin_?"

The first smiled evilly. "If they make it through the test we'll have to ask them."

"That's a pretty good idea." The second laughed.

"Of course it is!" The first joined in the laughter. "I came up with it!" He sighed. "Ready?"

The second nodded. "Three…two…one…"

High in the trees, a proctor scratched his head worriedly as the two clone dispelled into nothingness. "Mao is going to be so pissed at me…"

OOOOO

Sakura glanced at Naruto as she saw him stiffen for a moment. She was starting to get concerned. "Naruto? Are you ok?"

The blonde smiled. "Yeah, some clones just dispersed is all." He laughed nervously. "Guess they didn't find anything or they would have physically come back though…"

Sakura nodded as she recalled his plan from earlier. Afraid of being tailed like last time, Naruto had come up with what Sakura was forced to admit was a brilliant plan. Shortly after entering the gorge Naruto had made multiple teams of clone and had them _henge_ into Sakura and Sai before sending them off in all directions under the cover of the _jutsu _smoke. It was unlikely that Orochimaru was anywhere near by, but anyone that tried to follow them would be hard press to find the real team seeing as Naruto had repeated this trick a few more times as they advanced. He had made them also change their direction to further confuse any trackers each time.

Sakura smiled slightly. "You'd have to be one hell of a tracker, of incredibly luck to still be following us." Sakura thought to herself. "But seriously, when did Naruto get so smart?"

"_Oi_, Sai." Naruto called up front as they leapt from tree to tree. "Your rats find anything yet?"

Sai shook his head. "They're mice Naruto"

"Whatever." Naruto replied with a roll of his eyes.

Sakura almost giggled at his response as she remembered his excitement over the _jutsu_ he'd seen earlier. Sai had drawn some rodent looking creatures on his scroll and some how brought them to life to scout the area. As the ink bodies dissolved slowly, anything they discovered was somehow translated back to the scroll the had been "born" from. As a result, the new team seven had a surprisingly accurate map of most of the exam area at this point. Sakura was pulled from her thoughts as she felt something cold and wet hit her cheek. Looking up she saw dark thunder clouds heavy with rain. "Oh no…" Her voice barely a whisper. She shook her head violently to wake herself up. "Naruto! Sai! Get out of the trees!"

Naruto turned to look back at Sakura as she began to descend from the high branches. "What's the…" His eyes went wide as he heard the thunder but calmed a moment later. "Ok, its loud but it's not like…" A bolt of lightening raced down from the clouds and struck a branch not five meters from where Naruto was. His eyes bugged out comically wide now as he realized how close he had been to becoming "fried" Naruto. "Going down now!" He yelled as he let himself fall down to the relative cover of the ground.

Sakura grabbed Naruto shirt collar as he landed. "Next time I tell you to do something you do it without question! You hear me!?"

Naruto nodded dumbly, and wondered if perhaps he wasn't safer up in the trees. He shook the thought from his mind. "We'll stick to the ground for now…"

Sai looked up at the clouds, his ever impassive look still present. "Naruto…I don't think you understand just what the situation is right now."

Sakura followed Sai's gaze and grit her teeth. "_Kuso_…_nigero_!"

"Eh?" Naruto blinked as Sakura and Sai rushed past him. He noticed that it suddenly seemed to be getting a lot brighter despite the cloudy overhang. His eyes turned skywards, and he instantly wished he hadn't looked as what looked like a wall of pure lightening came crashing down into him.

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed as she watched countless volts of electricity course over his body. She tried to run to him, but felt Sai grab her wrist to stop her.

"He's fine." Sai pulled the girl along as he continued to run. "Look again."

Sakura glanced back and saw an incredibly burned out log. "_Kawarimi_?" She looked around and found Naruto about ten meters behind them and off to their right. "I never even saw him make the seals…" She whispered as she shook her self free of Sai's unusually strong grip. "We have to find someplace to wait out the storm!" She hollered to the others.

"Great!" Naruto's reply was more than a little sarcastic. "Where do you suggest we go!" He rolled to the side as more lightening rained down around them. He grit his teeth, lightening was bad enough but if its started raining in earnest. His body shivered as he felt the first few drops of rain hit his face. "_Kuso…_Sai! The map! Any caves or ditches we can hide in?"

Sai looked down at the unfurled scroll. "Closest one is almost twelve kilometers out!"

"There has to be something closer!" Sakura yelled as puddles of water began to form in the soil. "We'll never make that distance before the storm takes full effect!"

Behind his two team mates, Naruto came to grim conclusion. "We won't make it…" He thought silently. "We'll only make it if…"

OOOOO

"_Oi, Kitsune-teme_." Naruto called out as he stood ankle deep in sewer water, wondering absently why he couldn't seem to use chakra to stay on top like in real life.

Red chakra illuminated the interior of the cage, framing the great beast against the void-like backdrop. "So, you return to me at last _gaki._" Large sharp fangs slowly appeared as the fox smiled triumphantly. "Have you found another one too strong for you? Do you need my power to save you once again?"

Naruto frowned. He hadn't had to deal with the fox since the battle with Sasuke, he didn't count the time in Konoha since Daiki had cut the connection so quickly. Naruto knew the fox loved to bait him, to make him feel weak and reliant on the great demon's power. "I don't need anything from you." Naruto spoke calmly. "But my friends need the speed you have."

Kyuubi's smile seemed to widen at this. " I see." His malevolent sounding chuckled echoed off the sewer walls. "I know you've been getting stronger, you could probably escape whatever is hunting you on your own. Can't you?" He continued to laughed as his captor stared at him in silent defiance. "But you have not enough power to take your friends with you." The great fox leaned down, his nose nearly touching the great gates which sealed him. "You think I will not give you my power for such a task, but I shall."

Naruto stiffened, not having expected this. Their deal had been when Naruto was in danger, not his friends, was when he would get Kyuubi's chakra. This new development left only one thought on his mind. "Why?"

The fox's smile again increased. "Because at long last the ones you hold closes to you, the one's who don't know…" He paused and leaned into the gate, sparks flying as the seal on the gate began to repulse him. "Now they will know what you truly are. You will be alone again, and you will have to rely on me again just as you did as a child."

Naruto frowned, but couldn't deny that the idea struck him with fear. "They have to be alive to hate me. Besides, I don't believe that will happen."

"We shall see. Won't we?" Kyuubi chuckled darkly.

Naruto watched as red chakra began to leak through the gate towards Naruto. "How did you know I was getting stronger?" He asked suddenly.

The demon's head cocked to one side. "Look at the walls kit."

Naruto looked around and noticed for the first time that the sewers were a lot wider than he remembered as well as having higher ceilings. His eyes returned to the red chakra that was nearly upon him. "Expand and strengthen the chakra coils…" He whispered. "The seals…"

Kyuubi's eyes narrowed as his sensitive ears picked up Naruto's barely uttered thoughts. "What seals?"

Naruto looked up and smirked at the fox as the chakra cocooned around him. Without a word, Naruto vanished from the mindscape.

OOOOO

Sakura didn't know what hit her, and she panicked because of that fact. One second they had been yelling about the distance to the cave, the next she felt like she got blind sided by Tsunade from behind.

"Stop struggling."

Sakura stiffened at the voice that issued the command. It was familiar, but there was something…a sinister quality…that she had never heard before. "Naruto?" Turning slowly, she was able to see that it was his arm wrapped around her waist. Her eyes traveled up and gazed upon his face. His odd whisker-like marks were thicker and his canines seemed longer and sharper. What truly caught her attention however were his eyes. The striking blue eyes she had always known and come to expect were gone, instead she saw orbs red as blood. She gasped as the eyes flicked towards her for only a second, revealing their slit shape to her. "Wave…" She murmured quietly, and felt Naruto's arm stiffen around her ever so slightly.

"Sai." Naruto glanced to boy under his other arm. "What direction was the cave in?"

The newest member of team seven was also staring at his savior, but seemed less than completely shocked by this new side of Naruto. "Turn thirty degrees east." He paused when he saw no change in Naruto's course and pointed off to the right. "Go that way."

Sakura watched through somewhat numb eyes as the world pasted around her at unbelievable speeds. "Human's aren't supposed to move this fast…" She whispered to herself. "They can't…not even shinobi…" She watched as the storm followed after them, but seemingly couldn't keep up.

Sai's attention shifted between the girl and the blonde with a look of impassivity. He looked forward again and continued to give Naruto directions.

Thanks to Kyuubi's power, Naruto had them at the cave within a mater of minutes. He set down Sakura and Sai before turning away from them.

Sai again glanced between the other two members of the group. "I'll make sure the cave is secure." He turned and walked deeper into the darkened recesses of what would be their base for the time being.

Sakura remained just inside the entrance of the cave, simply staring at Naruto's turned back. She felt herself trembling all over, her knees threatening to buckle and collapse her upon herself. She saw his hands clenched tightly at his sides, and discovered he was shaking worse that she was. Slowly, Sakura reached out her hand and took a step forward. "Naruto…"

She shirked back as Naruto, alerted by the scuffing of her feet on the stone, glanced back at her quickly. Sakura's hands pulled into her chest and felt her body go numb to the very core as they locked eyes.

Nothing more was said as ruby and emerald stared deep into the other, waiting to see which would shatter first.

OOOOO

Rider: So? What are your thoughts? Good? Bad? Other? If you have a moment, please leave a small note to tell me.

Star: Did you know there are authors who hold their stories for ransom?

Wraiths: What are talking about?

Star: They won't post a new chapter unless they get a certain number of reviews.

Wraiths: Sad.

Rider: Agreed. I won't be resorting to that. (bows to the reader) 'Till the next, live well all.

Star & Wraiths: So long! (stare at each other) Jinx! Double jinx! Triple jinx!

Rider: (eyebrow twitches)


	15. Nindo

Riderofdragons: Hey all. Well finals are at last over with and I've poured all the ideas that have built up into this chapter, so I hope you enjoy this super sized update. If you're a returning reader, you might have noticed that I changed the summery of the story. The reason is that I fell the story is changing from what I originally intended and wanted it to reflect that. Hopefully I didn't confuse anyone to badly. As for my two cohorts…they went and graduated without me. So, unfortunately, I haven't seen them much recently cause of life taking us in different directions and they couldn't join in this time. Ok, I doubt you guys care at this point. I'll let you get on with the story. Catch you at the end.

OOOOO

Disclaimer 1) I do not own Naruto. Seriously, I wouldn't be living in a communal dorm if I had that kind of money.

Disclaimer 2) I do not own the lyrics/music to _Softly I Sing_. I found it over on under an independent artist by the name of Hania. I love her stuff for some reason and decided to use it since it fit nicely into what I envisioned in my head.

OOOOO

A Shinobi's Decision

Chapter Fifteen: _Nindo_

"What do you mean they already started the practical application portion of the exam?" Asuma, for the first time anyone could remember, was livid. "There are procedures that are to be followed if the exam makeup is changed!"

Mao stepped up and faced Asuma with no signs of being intimidated. "It's our choice how we test the little maggots when they're on our turf." Her lip curled ever so slightly in challenge. "The way you react, is 'pinky' on your team?"

"No, she would be a member of my team." Kakashi leaned against a wall to the left. His good eye didn't leave Mao for a second and his copy of _Icha Icha Paradise_ was no where to be seen. "Why do you ask?" He kept his tone as neutral as possible, though he was in much the same rage as Asuma was at the moment. "Has something happened to her?"

"Not yet." Mao replied, though she remained locked in her staring contest with the smoking _jounin_. "At least she was ok when we sent them into the gorge."

"The gorge?" Kurenai's striking crimson eyes darted to the window. "You mean where the storm is centered now?" She crossed her arms over her chest as a deep frown appeared on her normally kind features. "I understand the need to make sure they can survive in any situation, but that is a callous choice of testing means. Even_jounin_ would have to be extremely cautious in that."

"What about you spandex man?" Mao asked as she and Asuma seemed near ready to begin a physical altercation since their staring contest reached a stalemate. "You going to yell about this test too?"

"This exam." Gai sat on the floor in a cross-legged position, his voice was uncharacteristically low and calm. "I have no objection to it at all."

Kurenai spun and glared at her fellow shinobi. "Gai! How can you…"

Mao blinked as she suddenly found Gai in between her and Asuma. She began to sweat nervously as Gai took her hand firmly in her own.

"I believe this exam will be the ultimate test of Lee, Neji, and Ten-ten's youth!" Gai proclaimed loudly.

Mao had very little doubt that she would have face faulted from the outburst were it not for the man's inhuman grip on her hand. "Well then, at least…"

"The means by which you set up that test however…" Gai's voice became serious in tone once more. "Was most unyouthful."

Mao frowned. "Unyouthful? What the hell does that even mean?" She broke Gai's hold on her and took a step back cautiously. "One of you can translate from _baka_ to normal right?"

"All participant's _jounin-sensei_ are to be notified of any changes to the exam." Asuma repeated. "Your council didn't follow those guidelines."

"Maybe your scrolls just got lost in the mail." Mao turned around and walked back to her desk.

Kakashi's eyebrow raised slightly. "Along with everyone else out there?" He motioned his thumb to the closed door where he knew a number of other_jounin_ from various villages were waiting for their chance to speak with Mao.

The_kumo-jounin_ shrugged. "Guess the level of our mail-bird handlers has slipped in recent years."

Kakashi gave a curt nod. "Yeah, that must be it." He pushed of the wall and began to cross the room toward the exit. "I have no doubt my team will make it through this exam." He paused right at the nexus of the room and looked back over his shoulder, his eye clearly targeted on Mao. "However, I expect to be notified of any more changes to the exam schedule immediately Raikuro. I believe that is still my right as a _Sensei_."

Mao's lip twitched ever so slightly. "Of course. I'll have the scrolls sent to your rooms at once."

Kakashi turned away and opened the door to the hallway. He didn't look back, but he knew the others were following him. The sight of shinobi from other villages filled his vision. "This is going to get really bad, really quickly." He muttered to himself.

"You can say that again."

Asuma turned as he heard the familiar voice. "Shikamaru?" He motioned the entire group to keep walking forward away from prying persons. "Where have you been?"

The pineapple haired chunin yawned and scratched the side of his nose. "I was out watching the clouds. Where else would I be?"

Asuma quickly shot the other _jounin_ wary glances. Shikamaru's answer was too long. "You'd usually say 'It's to troublesome to explain'."

Shikamaru shrugged. "Yeah, but there were some really interesting clouds out today. So I'm feeling nice and refreshed."

Kakashi's eye rolled slowly towards Shikamaru and then to Asuma. It seemed the boy had discovered something of great importance.

Kurenai also caught the undertones of the conversation. "The clouds were really big then?"

"Bigger than you could imagine." Shikamaru replied with a yawn. "Or maybe you could, and that's why you had us stare at the ground the whole way here?"

Gai frowned. "We felt it would be best if you all saw where it was you were going. We did not want you to trip."

This time, Shikamaru frowned. "We're perfectly capable of walking on our own. It's not like we'd get lost with our heads in the clouds."

Asuma sighed, but smiled slightly. "Not all shinobi are as adept at cloud watching as you are Shikamaru."

"_Mendokusei…_"Shikamaru shoved his hands in his pockets. "The winds are changing rapidly. I should go write about the clouds I saw before they change shape."

Kakashi nodded. "It's been a while since I last watched the sky. I think I'll join you." The four _jounin_ and one _chunin_ exited the _Raikage's_ office building and quickly blended into the crowd of people on the street, vanishing from sight.

OOOOO

He didn't say anything. He couldn't say anything. All he could do was stare and feel the millions of tears forming in his heart caused by the fear in her eyes. At last he did the only thing he could do, something he swore he'd never do again in his life. He ran.

The coming storm didn't concern him, and Sakura's screaming of his name only fueled him to go faster. He couldn't take that pain right now. He had thought he could take it. That he'd be able to deal with whatever came next so long as Sakura was alive and safe.

He landed hard on the branch of a tall tree. Slowly, red transitioned back to cerulean as his false strength left him and he fell to his knees from both the physical and emotional exhaustion. For the first time since he had come to know his friends and begin to trust them as family, Naruto cried in earnest. "The damn fox was right…" He murmured softly. "I am going to be all alone again." He stiffened as something landed with a heavy thump on the branch beside him. He looked up and saw a falcon masked ANBU looking down at him.

"You should rejoin your team." The ANBU spoke. "It's dangerous for a weak _gennin_ like you to be on your own out here."

Naruto blinked as the ANBU speed off again and quickly vanished from sight. "What the hell is ANBU doing out here?" Naruto forgot about his self-pity as he began to wonder about this new development. He crossed his legs and sat on the branch, head bent forward in thought. "_Hebi-teme_ already has Sasuke, so there wouldn't be any reason for him to infiltrate this exam." He paused as he remembered Kakashi telling him about Anko's one-time apprenticeship to the snake-_sannin_. "Unless he's looking for someone to replace Sasuke with when the time comes." He shook his head. "_Ero-sennin_ said we have at least two more years before that happens. So at least five before he needs a new apprentice."

Closing his eyes, Naruto entered the meditation state that Kakashi had taught him. Naruto would never be the strategist that Shikamaru or Kakashi could be. Nor would he ever have the vast repository of knowledge that _Ero-sennin_ and the old man had at his disposal. Naruto knew he would always be heavy on earth and light on heaven, but Kakashi's training had made him much better than he had used to be.

"What other threats could require ANBU involvement?" He whispered as his mind began to expand in search of answers. "Akatsuki?" His brows furrowed. Gaara and he were both here, two targets for the price of one. "Not to mention the others Garra mentioned…" He whispered. "There may be three or four of us here now." He shook his head. "But they would have made their move already." He swallowed hard. "Wouldn't they?"

"Neji." He turned his mental eye in a new direction as he recalled the Hyuuga's first memories of _Kumo_. "Hinata and Hanabi. Could ANBU be looking for them? And if so, to help them or hurt them?" Naruto grit his teeth. The thought of anyone hurting his friends, even the little brat, made his blood boil. In a sense they were no different from him at the moment. Being hunted for something that was hidden within them. "I have to protect them…" He whispered. "Even if…" He shook his head, it was already done. He couldn't put the fox back in the bag now. "I will be Hokage…I will keep my precious people safe…no matter the cost to me."

Blue eyes snapped open and Naruto jumped to his feet with surprising speed. He looked back the way he had come, and sweat a little. "Going to take longer without using the _Kitsune's_ power…" He realized aloud as he pulled his head band tighter. He slapped his face with both hands simultaneously, the slight sting fully pulling him from his thoughts and back into reality. "_Yosh_!" He pumped chakra into his legs and feet propelling him faster and faster through the trees.

In his newfound determination he failed to notice his observer. He brushed a few stray pink hairs out of his eyes and grinned triumphantly. "Now things will really get interesting." He whispered in an amused tone before he vanished in burst of white fire.

As Naruto neared the cave he left the others in, the storm fell down around him. Naruto looked up as a bright bolt of light raced toward him, and he smiled. The bolt lanced through the boy and into the tree behind him with a shower of sparks, only for the afterimage to fade out of existence a moment later. Naruto grinned as he reappeared almost a kilometer up from where the lightening was.

He raced through the trees almost carelessly, somehow always able to remain a step ahead of the deadly electric masses. Something below him caught his eye and he quickly found cover in the trees. Squinting his eyes to try and get a better view of things he identified a team of ninja pathetically huddled under a make shift tarp. He recalled Mao's words from earlier about the gorge and sighed. Figuring the team was in bad enough shape Naruto decided to leave them and be on his way, until he caught sight of their _hitai-ate_. "_Kumo-nin_…" He whispered as his face took on a stony determined look. "_Gomen-ne_."

Focusing chakra into his hands and feet Naruto began to climb down the trees quickly until he reached the muddy ground. The plan he came up with was simple and direct and he quickly set it in motion as he raised his hands into the cross-shaped seal. "_Kage Bunshin no jutsu_." He whispered as the technique gave rise to two new Naruto's. At the same time all three Naruto's brought their hands up into a new set of seals. "_Henge no jutsu_."

The unfortunate cloud _gennin_ didn't know what was happening around them as each was attacked and restrained by a masked ANBU. The falcon masked ANBU went after the most physically intimidating of the three cloud shinobi. Falcon quickly tackled to the boy to the ground and pulled his arm back and around into a shoulder lock. If the boy even moved and inch Falcon could dislocate his shoulder and snap his collar bone. He stepped onto the boys remaining hand, just in case he knew anything about one handed seals.

The_kunoichi_ fared no better as the dog masked ANBU slammed her into a near by tree. He spun her quickly around to get her back and grasped her hands with one of his own. Dog's other hand circled around her throat and applied pressure with his fingertips to her windpipe. He used his body weight to keep her pinned against the tree.

The third cloud ninja received the worst of the three as the Fox masked ANBU unleashed a strong spinning back kick into his chin. As the boy fell backwards Fox continued to spin and grabbed the _kumo-nin's_ shoulders and slammed him down into a seated position. Fox then grabbed the man's hands and held them high over his head with one hand. A kunai flashed briefly before coming to rest at the man's throat. "Cooperate and you'll live through this." Fox ordered.

Falcon's captive struggled for a moment. "Who the hell are you guys? ANBU has no reason to be in this area!"

Falcon applied a bit more pressure into his lock, instantly silencing the man. "ANBU goes where it must."

"What is the status of the operation?" Dog asked, though to no one in particular.

"Operation?" Fox's captive looked around at his team's predicament. "What the hell are you talking about? The only thing going on is the exam…" His voice trailed off as the kunai cut into his skin just a little.

"I can feel your muscles twitch every time you lie." Fox informed the his captive in a cold, monotone voice. He continued quickly before they had a chance to call his bluff. "Do not lie to me again. Again, what is the status of the operation?"

Dog's prisoner glanced nervously from the masked man before her to her two teammates. "Honestly…I don't know anything about what you're…" Her voice trailed off as more pressure was felt on her wind pipe.

"Stop!" Falcon's prisoner struggled to help his teammate to no avail. "In my pouch…there's a scroll for the exam! A good one! Take it and leave her alone!"

Falcon reached into the pouch and gripped the scroll. "You think this is what we're after?" He threw the document far off into the surrounding foliage. "Tell us what Mao has planned!"

"We don't know what Mao's job was." Fox's prisoner finally admitted. "We were only told to stay away from the white eyed ones from Leaf."

"Why?" Fox demanded.

"Hunter-nin."

The three ANBU looked at each other for a minute before nodding slightly. They released their prisoners only long enough to deliver a series of knife-edge strikes to the base of their skulls, knocking the_kumo-gennin_ cold. Turning from the downed ninja they ran into the forest again. Falcon scooped up the scroll he had tossed away earlier and threw it to Fox. As they ran through the rain, Dog and Falcon vanished in clouds of smoke while Fox changed back into Naruto.

The blonde shook his head as realization set in. He had gotten what he wanted, more than what he expected really, but the way he had done it left a sour taste in his mouth. He had not planned to really hurt the Cloud team, but he had made them believe he would. He had even used the girl to push them over the edge, something he had been ready to kill Gaara for when he had done that to Sakura. Naruto shivered as he realized that his way of life, his _nindo_, had a significant flaw. He stopped dead in the middle of his run and looked up at the sky as rain continued to pelt his face. "In order to protect my precious people, I might have to hurt people who are precious to others." He spoke softly. The scroll was slipped silently into his satchel as Naruto resumed his run back to the cave.

As the make shift hideout came into view Naruto reduced his speed and waited, not at all looking forward to having to face Sakura. He waited until the last possible minute as the storm intensified around him before racing toward the cave. Making a reckless leap from the cover of the trees as a shower of lightening bolts threatened to do him in Naruto tumble rolled into the safety of the cave.

"Naruto!" Sakura ran from the small fire she had built towards the mess of orange limbs that lay on the floor of the small cavern. "Where did you…How did you…Are you…"

Naruto grinned, finding he didn't have to force himself as much as he thought he would, as Sakura stumbled for questions. He reached into his satchel and pulled out the scroll. "I found one, but you should make sure it's good."

"Naruto…" Sakura stared at the held out document. "You…"

Naruto sat up quickly and rose to his feet. He knew that tone all to well, Sakura wanted to ask something but didn't know how, and he got the feeling it wasn't something he wanted to deal with right now. "Sai!" He called as he walked deeper to the cave.

"I don't care." Sakura whispered at the blonde's back, smiling weakly as Naruto stopped suddenly. "I don't know what you did." She continued slowly. "You saved us. Whatever secret you have…I don't care. So if you want to keep it a secret that's ok." She swallowed hard. "But you're my teammate, and my friend. I trust you and hope you trust me. If you ever want to talk…"

"You should check out that scroll for now." Naruto interrupted, his voice barely able to be heard. "This is…" He shook his head. "Never mind, thanks Sakura-_chan_." The orange clothed ninja continued to walk, not looking back at his friend. "Sai! Did you send those rats of yours into the cave?"

Sai nodded and held up a new map. "There are many passages. It would be easy to get lost."

Sakura frowned slightly as she watched the two boys begin to talk. She had seen Naruto do this before. When he didn't want to address something, he found something else to do to get out of it. It cut deeper than she thought it would, seeing as Naruto had never used this approach on her before. Following Naruto's example, Sakura looked down at the scroll's contents and began to analyze it for it's validity.

OOOOO

"You never change it seems."

His eyebrow twitched ever so slightly as the other man spoke. He had sensed his presence a few minutes ago, but he knew from experience that he had to let his informant make the first move lest his pride become bruised. Closing his small notebook, he turned away from the hole in the wall of the hot spring's resort. His _geta,_ possibly the nosiest shoes ever designed, made no sound even against the hard stone surface of the walkway as he began to move down the street. Jiraiya glanced skyward, a sign they had agreed on long ago to ensure they knew who the other was, before he began his task. "What have you got for me?"

The man's voice traveled out from seemingly everywhere and nowhere. "There are three teams here."

The toad-sannin frowned deeply. "Three? Why the hell are there three here now?"

"_Ichibi, Nibi…_"

Jiraiya swallowed hard. "Don't tell me…"

"_Kyuubi_."

The novelist hung his head slightly. "What the hell Tsunade?" He grumbled. "You were supposed to keep the brat in Konoha." He sighed. "You could have at least sent word that to me he'd be here so I know to look out for him."

"I believe there was more to her actions than simply giving the boy room to move." The man replied, his voice still calm. "I have watched him for a short time. He is…different."

"Different how?" Jiraiya stopped at a small food stand and purchased a portion of _yakitori_, as well as a few prepackaged items. He moved on and bit at the chicken only to burn his tongue. "The seal?"

"Yes, and no."

"It can't be both." The older man griped quietly. He didn't care how skilled his informant was, there was something about the non-answers his generation favored that got on Jiraiya's nerves.

"His_original_ seal is intact." The man replied. "But he seems to have learn a_fuuinjutsu_ for himself."

Jiraiya's eyebrow raised in shock at this. "Who taught him?"

"I don't know." The man's voice was low, as though he hated to be ill informed of anything. "Sealing techniques are not my specialty, nor was he under my watch whenever he was taught. I only know because of what I've seen of him just recently."

"And what is it you have seen?" Jiraiya asked as he sat on a bench along the street. There was a long pause that almost made Jiraiya think he had lost his informant. He pulled a small item from his bag and placed it on the bench beside him, though he didn't let go of it. "You wouldn't have brought it up if you didn't have more."

At last the man's voice returned. "As I said, he is different. To be more precise, he is changing."

"How?" Jiraiya heard the faint rustle of fabric, and indication that his spy was shaking his head. Jiraiya's frown deepened, as he knew it was an action the man rarely performed.

"Again, I do not know the specifics." His voice came slow. "But it has to do with his chakra somehow. The way in which he moves it has changed greatly. It is almost…sluggish in it's control. Like a dam has been put into place."

"I'll have to look into it." Jiraiya took his hands off the small cardboard box he held and a moment later it vanished completely. He almost laughed. "Still quite the sweet-tooth."

"_Hn_." Came the muffled reply. "I will keep you informed as I am able."

"Of course." Jiraiya nodded. He waited a few minutes more until he felt his spy's presence fade away. Resting his elbows on his knees he leaned forward and continued to eat his _yakitori_ while deep in thought. "This…is really lousy." He muttered as he stood and threw the majority of his meal away. "Honestly, how can someone who runs business like that serve such lousy food." Walking slowly up the street, he failed to notice the scantily dress women trying to entice him into the bars. "I should go find my student's protégé."

OOOOO

Sakura tapped Sai on the shoulder as they came to a juncture point deep with in the caverns. "Why does the map end so suddenly in this area?"

Naruto glanced at the mentioned area and scratched his head as if thinking about it for the first time. "Maybe the rats ran out of chakra?"

"No, that's not it." Sai responded curtly. "It's an anti-detection measure." He turned a level stare at Naruto. "And they're mice."

"A what?" Naruto asked cluelessly, completely ignoring Sai's issue with the mice/rat naming.

"A recon technique doesn't do you an good if someone sees it." Sakura nodded. "So, some other team must have found there way into the caves." She thought for a minute. "Can you send some more mice down that way. To act as sentries to alert us as they get nearer."

Sai nodded. "Keep look out. This will take a moment."

Sakura lifted her emergency flare above her head and looked around. The walls took on the red-orange color of her light source, but gave very little in terms of revealing illumination. Still, she was glad they had at least that. With the rains coming so suddenly there was no dry wood to make torches with, and their small fire from earlier had already consumed what few branches she had been able to gather. She hoped that they found their way through these tunnels before they burned through all four of her emergency flares. She dreaded the thought of being down here in the dark. He eyes drifted towards Naruto again as they had so many times in the past few hours. "Then again, maybe that wouldn't be so bad." She blushed brightly as she considered the innuendo of the thought. "I mean, he would think we were going to die and he'd tell me the truth about…" Her inner monologue stopped as she watched the blonde move about the cave.

Naruto was having a hard time adjusting to the caves. It wasn't that he couldn't see, in actuality he could see too well. He had always had fairly decent night vision, but now it seemed like his eyes picked up any stray speck of light thrown by Sakura's flare and enhanced it. It wasn't perfect, but he had seen well enough that he could navigate them past a few pitfalls he was sure he would have never seen in the past. On top of that was the smells. There were moments he felt like he was choking on the odors of the cave. The wet soil, the stagnant water, the mold and dust, Sai's ink, even Sakura's perfume threatened to overwhelm him. It made no sense to the young ­gennin.

"They are in place." Sai informed his team. "The mice will dissolve if the unknown team comes too close to them and the information will relay to the map."

Sakura frowned. "So we can't get an exact fix on their position?"

Naruto shrugged. "Better some warning than none right?" He turned as he heard something scratching somewhere down the corridor. "You hear that?"

Sakura blinked and directed her flare toward Naruto. "Hear what?"

Sai's eyes narrowed slightly as he saw the blonde grit his teeth. "Have the caves began to trick your senses?"

Naruto was slow to answer the question. He hadn't considered the idea that there might be something in the caves that effected his sight and sense of smell, it wasn't hard to believe that there something to effect his hearing as well. "And if it's effecting me…" He whispered. "Why wouldn't it effect them?"

"Naruto?" Sakura inched closer to the boy, concerned that maybe he had a fever from going off into the rain. "You feeling ok?"

Naruto held up his hand to stop Sakura's movement as he heard the noise again. His head cocked from side to side as he tried to pinpoint where it came from or what could cause that type of scratching, like millions of little, metal, barbs being dragged against stone. "Are there any _genjutsu_ in the area?" He asked quietly.

Sakura handed the flare to Sai and quickly formed the needed seal. "_Kai_." Her attention returned to Naruto, slightly distressed to see him still trying to listen for something only he seemed capable of detecting. "Are we under attack?"

"I don't think so." Naruto whispered. He brought his hand up and made a few quick gestures.

Sai recognized the moves instantly, though he wondered where Naruto had learned them. He looked over to Sakura and saw she recognized the hand signals as well. "This will certainly change things." He thought silently. "I didn't expect them to know such means of communication. What else have their files omitted?"

Sakura nodded as she broke down Naruto's silent commands. Taking back the flare she fell back into line behind Naruto and felt, more than saw, Sai take up the position behind her. She held the light source slightly off to the side of her body to let the light curve around Naruto's body and give him more visible area to follow.

Sai pulled out one of his prepared scrolls and broke the opening tab of the parchment. If they were attacked all he'd need do is push some chakra into his paintings and they'd have a small army backing them up. He'd rather not reveal that particular aspect of his art just yet, better for Sakura and Naruto to think he was only capable of recon work for now.

Naruto moved with his usual confidence, quickly navigating around the small stalagmites and sinkholes, leading his team along the safe path. He didn't know why he could see as well as he could, but he wasn't going to complain at this point. He paused as he heard the sound again and quickly motioned down the right most tunnel that they came to. Naruto licked his lips slightly, only now realizing they were dry. They continued through the near dark for a few minutes longer when the sounds became more distinct. The same metal barb sound but now there was also something else accompanying it. Like bone scraping on rock, but at more timed intervals than the metal barbs. He brought them to a stop and signed to Sai. "Map." He looked over the scroll a moment and pointed at an area were the drawing ended abruptly.

"No more chakra." Sai signed.

Naruto sighed. The other team in the area must have changed direction and were using tunnels that the rats hadn't had a chance to explore. He handed back the map and signed quickly. "Defense."

Sakura nodded her acknowledgment of the order. She had to consciously remind herself not to reach for the scroll in her satchel. They had their ticket to the next portion of the exam, but that just meant they were an even bigger target until they got to the checkpoint. She signed back to Naruto. "Counter attack?"

Naruto shook his head and motioned for them to resume their movement. For the next half an hour they moved through the shadows of the cave tracking the sound. A few times it was even necessary to retreat the way they came as the sounds would begin to move closer to them suddenly. In those instances it had seemed the hunters had become the hunted, but nothing had discovered them nor vise versa. Naruto was nearly ready to call an end to the game of cat and mouse when the odor hit him. He pushed Sakura and Sai to the ground as they nearly walked over the drop off.

Sakura shot Naruto a look that was a mixture of question and death threat. She glanced into the drop off but could see nothing. She signed to Naruto. "Target?"

"Unconfirmed." Naruto signed back before looking over the edge. He could barely make out the three figures, two male and one female, which he relayed to the others via signs. It was the smells that confused him, rotten eggs, wet-dog, and…vanilla mixed with lavender? His eyes lit as he realized who it must be. He motioned for Sakura and Sai to remain silent as he moved away from the edge slowly and flipped onto his back. "_Kage bunshin no jutsu_." He barely whispered.

To say she was confused would have been an understatement as Sakura watched her teammate's clone run off into the darkness. "What are you doing?" She signed franticly. "Enemy?"

Sai nodded in understanding as he signed. "Verify."

Naruto nodded as he waited patiently. Once again, he motioned for them to remain quiet. A moment later his voice was heard at the opposite side of the cavern.

"The old monkey likes to read…" Began the clone.

A man's voice picked up a second later. "Within the leaves that reflect the fire's light."

Sakura blinked and leaned up over the edge. "Shino?" She called uncertainly.

Gruff laughter was heard a moment later. "Naruto? You up there?"

Naruto laughed back. "Yep! It was your smell that let me figure out who you were Kiba!"

"Shut up!" Kiba almost barked. "I do not smell!"

Naruto laughed again and jumped over the edge. "You do! Like a wet dog! When was the last time you washed that coat?"

Sai forced a smile to his face and turned to Sakura. "It seems he found us some allies."

Sakura nodded slowly. "But how did he know?" She kept the thought to herself as she leapt down.

"Sakura-_chan_?" Hinata's voice whispered through the darkness. "_Daishoubu_?"

Sakura almost asked how Hinata could see the look on her face before she remembered who she was talking to. "Fine, just fine. You guys?"

"Feel like we're running in circles." Complained Kiba. "Thought we had it all figured out, but can't make heads or tails of this damn network." He shot a glare at Naruto. "Must have been you guys that made us have to keep changing our plans."

"Hey! We thought you were enemies too!" Naruto shot back. "Just be thankful we didn't decide to just take you out right from the start!"

The_inu-nin_ stepped up to the blonde at the remark. "Think you can?" Kiba challenged.

"Know I can!" Naruto stood toe to toe with the other man.

"Ahem." Shino cleared his throat. "This is pointless."

"Got that right." Sakura huffed.

Hinata watched as Sai sat on the ground and began to paint. "_Ano_…what are you doing?"

Sai's fake smile once again appeared. "I am going to try to finish the map of the caverns."

Hinata watched him a moment more before her attention diverted else where. The sole reason for her discovery was the lack of light in the caves that forced her to keep her _Byakugan_ active. "Naruto-_kun_?"

"What is it Hinata?"

Hinata almost gasped as she saw the boy turn to look directly at her. He didn't turn in her general direction, he focused immediately on her. She wondered how he could pinpoint her so easily in the darkness, but shook her thought away. "Did you have any kind of trouble before you arrived in these caves?" She frowned a little as she watched Naruto shrug his shoulders but didn't elaborate anything more. "Oh…I see." She smiled at him shyly. "It just looked like you were a little…worn out."

Naruto shook his head. "Never better." He smiled back, no need to tell her all the things he was trying to work out right now. Looking around briefly, Naruto pointed towards a tunnel at the other side of the room. "Come on, we should see if we can find a way out of here."

Kiba nodded. "Team up for now?"

Sakura nodded. "I don't see why not."

"Kiba and Hinata should lead." Shino suggested as he began to walk towards the door. "Naruto and Sakura after that. Sai and I will take the final position."

"Not to fond of being down wind of Kiba." Naruto grumbled semi-playfully.

"Let it go." Kiba growled slightly. "You're smelling a little musky yourself."

Hinata smiled weakly as she took her spot in the formation. Her attention drifted to Naruto once more before they set out. "His chakra flow…" She thought quietly. "His entire chakra network has been altered…" She shook her head, recalling the last time she had seen something like this. "He's always had more chakra than the rest of us, but why would his coils change now?"

OOOOO

Sasuke stood in the trees, staring at the cave the he had seen Naruto enter hours ago. "Why?" He whispered angrily. "He was right there in front of me. I could have done something." His fist shot out and slammed against the tree. "Something…" Turning his back on the cave, Sasuke began his trip back to the village, still ranting slightly to himself.

"It's not like I even had to kill him." He grumbled. "All I would have had to do was use my _Sharingan_ and trap him in a _genjutsu_ before he had time to react." His chakra spiked as his temper began to flare. "He would have been nice and occupied out of the way. If I got lucky, maybe another team of shinobi would have found him while he was still confused and killed him for me. Then I wouldn't have had to worry about Orochimaru or Itachi. I wouldn't have to deal with the damn snake wanting me to kill Naruto, and I'd have to find some other way to gain power since following _his_ directions on how to gain _Mangekkyou Sharingan_!" He landed on the branch with such force that his imitation Falcon ANBU mask fell from his face. With and angry yell he lashed out, catching the mask with a roundhouse kick that sent it deep into the underbrush.

Sasuke stood there, staring hard at where the mask had gone and breathing hard. "Damn it…" He muttered after a few minutes. "Damn it_dobe_…" His right hand rested on his hip while his left hand came up to his face. He closed his eyes and chucked humorlessly. "What have you done to me_dobe_?" Black eyes opened slowly and his head tilted up to the sky. "It was raining that day too, wasn't it? Or was it just the waterfall?" He shook his head a moment later. "No, it was the rain. I couldn't do it then, and the first time seeing you since then…I still couldn't do it."

Jumping down from the trees to the muddy soil Sasuke retrieved the dirty, and now cracked, mask. "A shinobi is to have no emotions." He whispered. "A shinobi is a tool, and does not pursue his own endeavors." It was a lesson they taught at the academy, and Sasuke was pretty sure the _nuke-nin_ Zabuza had said something similar to them. "I suppose then… that I am a ninja and not a shinobi." He held the mask out at arms length and let the rain clean the dirt from the mask before donning it once more. Without another word Sasuke ran deeper into the forested gorge, leaving only his muddy foot prints behind.

OOOOO

"I honestly didn't expect you of all people to show up." Kakashi sighed and closed his book. "I am grateful however, I get the feeling we'll need the extra help if things get as bad as I think they will get."

Jiraiya frowned. "Why are you expecting things to get bad?"

Kakashi turned his head ever so slightly towards the older shinobi. "Tsunade-_sama_ didn't inform you?"

"Inform me of what?"

Kakashi sighed again. "We should go get something to eat." He stood from his sentry station outside the Raikage's office building and tapped at the collar he wore. "We have an unexpected ally in the area. We're going for a debriefing." He whispered into the small microphone. He nodded as he received a series of responses in his earpiece from the other jounin.

Jiraiya listened as they walked. The mention of food was a ruse, any ninja past a _gennin_ would know that. Still the information that Kakashi supplied him with was not what he expected, or needed, at the moment. "Forget food." He muttered. It was mostly to let Kakashi know he had information to exchange as well, but there was a faint hint of honesty in his tone. "I'd rather have a drink after leaning all this."

Kakashi kept his eye on the ground as Jiraiya passed along the information gathered by his spy. It really was the worst possible timing, and his thoughts went straight to the safety of his team. "Any idea who they are?"

Jiraiya shook his head, but handed over a scroll. "These are all the members I've been able to identify so far, as well as who they are reported to be partnered up with." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Of course, their latest whereabouts are also supposed to be in there but that's clearly false…" He grumbled something about needing to go out to maintain his spy network better. "So there is a possibility that there is errors in that info as well." He walked silently down the street a while longer. "He will be here though."

"Your informant listed the team for the _Kyuubi_ specifically." Kakashi nodded. "Asuma's fought Hoshigaki Kisame before, he'll be able to handle him especially with Kurenai to back him up."

"And you, Gai, and myself will focus on Uchiha Itachi." Jiraiya nodded.

Kakashi glanced at Jiraiya. "Assuming that those are the ones we fight."

"They should be the only once we have to concern ourselves with." Jiraiya replied calmly. "The other's will go after their targets. They shouldn't interfere with us unless we try to get in the way of their objective."

"Even if that's true…" Kakashi stopped where he was in the street. "Naruto would never allow himself to stay off to the side while others like him, like Gaara, are in danger." His voice took on a slightly colder tone. "And Naruto would certainly never forgive anyone who would even consider a plan that would sacrifice others for his own safety."

Jiraiya sighed and stopped, though he didn't turn to face copy ninja. "I realize what you're saying Kakashi, believe me. But, I've already lost one student, I'll be damned if I'm going to lose another one. Doubly so considering…"

Kakashi clapped a hand on the older man's shoulder. "I know."

Jiraiya turned and smiled weakly. "They really are like two peas in a pod aren't they?"

Kakashi's mask shifted ever so slightly as he smiled. "That they are." He pulled the man towards a nearby _oden_ stand. "Let's get that drink."

Jiraiya nodded as he translated in his head. "Let's start planning."

OOOOO

The_oto-nin_ gasped for air as his captor held him in place. "What the hell do you want?" His voice raspy and choked, yet still tried to sound demanding.

Pale eyes surrounded by dark circles narrowed on the sound ninja. "I have told you what I want." The eyes flicked to his teammates who had already finished off the other two sound members. "They were less than cooperative."

"_Oi,_ Gaara." Kankuro wiped blood off of some of Karasu's blades. "Let's stop wasting time."

Temari closed up her fan and strapped it to her back. "I hate to say it, but he's right Gaara. Your sand is definitely giving us an advantage to be able to move through this storm, but we can't waste time when we'll likely need every second to find a useable scroll."

The youngest sand ninja nodded. "Last chance." He faced the sound shinobi one last time. "_Orochimaru tou Uchiha Sasuke wa doko desuka?_"

The sound shinobi struggled against the sand that surrounded him. "Even if I knew where they were, I wouldn't tell you." He spat in Gaara's face. "_Suna oni_."

Gaara didn't even bother to wipe his face. Instead he simply raised his hand toward the sound shinobi. "_Sabaku Kyuu._" He watched with disinterest as the sand closed around his victim until he vanished from view. "_Sabaku Sousou_."

Temari winced slightly as she heard the body within the sand snap repeatedly. She swallowed down her unease as blood began to show in the sand. "Why are you so interested in…" She leapt to the left as something rustled in the bushes behind her.

Kankuro acted immediately. Chakra strings formed instantly from his finger tips and connected to Karasu. Poison coated weapons exposed themselves as the assassin's puppet propelled at the source of the sound. "Got you!"

A figure dropped from the trees above, coming down between Kankuro and Karasu. "_Tanseinaiken no jutsu_." His voice calm, but loud enough to let the three _suna-nin_ hear him. His hand, glowing with blue-green chakra, severed the chakra strings causing the puppet to fall flat and lifeless. He lifted his head slowly and brushed a few stray pink hairs from his face. "For your sake, don't do that. You'll only piss her off."

Kankuro's eyes narrowed. "You're the ones from the waiting room."

Daiki grinned smugly. "Guilty as charged." He nodded his head, signaling the tanned girl on his team to come forth and show herself. "We didn't come to fight, there'll be time enough for that later."

Temari looked around, not trusting the fact that she couldn't see their third member. "If not to fight, they why are you here?"

"A business proposition. Name's Daiki, if _ahou_ hasn't told you that much already."

Temari's eyes narrowed. "I can only assume you're referring to Uzumaki." Though her attention focused on Daiki but her hand remained fastened to the end of her fan incase of a surprise attack. "What makes you think we'll be interested in any kind of deal with you? We don't know you at all."

"Who said we were looking to make a deal with you post-op?" The tan girl sneered.

Kankuro fought hard not to laugh, and failed as a few chuckles escaped him. He had teased his sister about her less than lady-like mannerisms, but no one had ever been so direct before. He quickly quieted down as Temari began to unfurl her fan and glare death at him.

"Miyako." Daiki's laughed lightly, but his tone was warning at the same time. "You'll be interested in the deal for a number of reasons, the biggest being…" His eyes locked with Gaara. "You still feel you have a debt to the idiot." He grinned as saw the red head's eyes shift almost imperceptibly. "Right?"

Kankuro grimaced. "Fine, you know how to twist our arm. We get anything out of it at least?"

Miyako threw something to the puppeteer. "Authenticated and everything. One scroll, don't lose it."

Temari jumped as a body dropped into the area between the two teams. "_Nani_?" She moved in closer and kicked the body over. "It's one of the exam proctors. What gives?"

"_Naruhodo_." Gaara nodded solemnly. "You took him off our tail."

Daiki grinned and looked up into the trees where his other teammate stood waiting patiently. "_Domo…_Shizuka."

Temari blinked at her brother. "What do you mean you see?" She kicked the dead proctor again. "How can we pass now that our examiner is dead?"

"Think about it Temari." Kankuro supplied. "All we need is to have the scroll at the checkpoint to prove we're able to do what they ask. Why have the proctors follow so many teams around?"

Temari grit her teeth. "We've been set up." She turned to Daiki. "A partnership then?"

Daiki shook his head. "Not with us. We can handle ourselves." He crossed the distance between them and stood shoulder to shoulder with Gaara.

Kankuro frowned as he watched the two young men talk. He couldn't hear what they were saying, nor could he read their lips from where he stood. Yet he got the sensation that there was much more than what seemed to meet the eye here, of that he was certain.

Temari also watched her brother and this strange boy converse. "Why?" She thought silently. "Why can he get so close without the sands moving against him?"

Gaara nodded. "All right. We'll do it."

Daiki grinned. "See you at the checkpoint then." He continued to journey into the forest. "Miyako. Shizuka."

Gaara watched them go with the same disinterest he always showed. After a few moments more, as if to make sure they were really gone, he turned and headed off in a westerly direction. His stride was unusually quick, something his brother and sister picked up on immediately.

"So?" Kankuro asked as he strapped Karasu to his back. "Where are we going now?"

"If the scroll is good we should just head for the check point." Temari complained, though it was half-hearted and clearly not what she really wanted to do. "Of course, if there's a chance we can fight some people along the way I certainly wouldn't mind that either."

Kankuro chuckled dryly. "That kid get you that mad?" He leapt back on the defensive, one hand on Karasu, as Temari whipped her still closed fan around at him like a club. "Hey! I didn't say it! She did!"

Temari seethed in barely contained anger. "And you are going to forget all about that comment. Do you hear me?"

"Both of you knock it off." Gaara's voice was cold. He recalled Temari once saying he had two voices, pre-Uzumaki and post-Uzumaki. This time definitely fell in to the pre category. "We have work to do."

Temari shivered slightly, she hadn't seen Gaara so focused since he had been slated to fight the Uchiha. "And what work is that?"

"A mission."

Kankuro blinked. "You accepted a mission during the exam?"

Gaara nodded, and let his voice soften just a little. "There is a plot against the Leaf, against Naruto's precious people. We're going to help them."

"Again?" Kankuro sighed. "I hope it's not the one from last time. I couldn't get that wet dog smell off me for a week."

This time it was Temari who laughed. "At least you know it can't get any worse."

Gaara's eyes narrowed. "You may very well regret those words." He smirked for just a moment as he heard his family go dead silent, but just as quickly his mask of stoicism returned. No one said anything more as they moved deeper into the darkness caused by the storm.

OOOOO

"So how'd you know to go this way anyway?" Kiba asked as he poked a stick into the small fire. He was thankful they had found a small supply chamber amongst the tunnels, though they had needed to burn another of Sakura's flares to get the blaze going. "I mean, not even Sai's map had that tunnel scouted out."

Naruto shifted a bit uncomfortably at the question. "I could just…smell the air." He offered weakly.

Sakura glanced over from where she and Sai were studying the map. "Smelled the air? Since when can you do that?"

"I don't know. I just could." Naruto shrugged. "The rain, the ozone from the lightening, the lack of pollen." He shrugged again. "I just knew what it meant somehow."

"Then how was it I missed all these clues?" Kiba asked, irritation clearly in his voice.

Hinata saw the look of skepticism on her teammate's face. "P-perhaps the caves dulled your senses." She offered. "We were down there a long time, and we had to double back over Shino's marked routes a number of times. Maybe your nose got desensitized."

Kiba sighed. "Maybe…"

"It is really immaterial now." Shino stated as he moved out of the shadow of the cave. "We found another exit, and it puts us considerably closer to the final check point." He pointed out towards something in the distance, though it was obscured by the storm. "It was a good use of the day."

Naruto glanced out into the storm. "Yeah, but that leaves us only four more days to get to the checkpoint. And there's no telling when or if this storm will break."

Sakura moved closer to the fire and brought her hands up to warm them. "We're not so bad off since we found a scroll, but you guys will have a tough time if you have to wait too long."

"We'll manage." Kiba shot back with a smile. "If this idiot can do it…" He pointed his thumb towards Naruto. "There's no way I'm going to let us do any less."

Hinata smiled. "Yes, we-we'll all have to do our best."

Naruto nodded. "We've never really had any joint missions in the past. But we could help you guys out if you want."

Sakura jerked a little at this offer. She had no aversion to helping them, but it was still a competition. Before she could voice her opinions however, Shino spoke.

"This is a competition Naruto." The bug wielder stated calmly. "Our elimination would in turn help you later. Why would you help us?"

Naruto smiled and looked down at the ground. "Cause we're all_Konoha-nin_. We're the rookie nine, well, twelve if you count fuzzy-brow's team. I think it would be really great if we all made it through together, just like last time."

Hinata felt her whole body temperature shoot though the roof. "He remembered what I said?" Her mind asked in a panicked frenzy. "Could he really have taken something I said and made it that important to him?"

Naruto's smile faded. "But that's not the only reason." He quickly told them of his encounter with the _kumo-nin_ and what he had learned, surprising everyone present. At least he though they were all surprised, it was hard to tell with Shino and Sai cause their faces never seemed to move. Naruto shook his head and continued. "So you see, there's a big risk to your team even on top of the exam."

"W-we have to warn Neji-_nii-san_ and Hanabi-_chan_." Hinata gripped at the fur lining of her coat so hard her normally pale skin looked even whiter along the knuckles. "We suspected that something would happen but…"

"Neji will be fine." Naruto spoke quickly before anyone could say anything. "Having fought the guy and seen him take on that freaky spider sound ninja…" He grinned. "I know Neji will be ok, and if by some slim chance they do get passed his guard, Lee and Ten-ten will back him without a thought."

"And Hanabi?" Shino questioned.

"Choji and Ino won't let anything happen to her." Naruto rubbed his jaw as he remembered the last time Choji had punched him there. "Ino'll line them up and Choji will knock them down." The blonde smiled at Hinata. "And if she takes anything after her sister, Hanabi'll kick their butts good too."

Hinata looked down at her lap. "So…you're saying…I'm the only one who needs to be protected…"

Sakura mentally slapped her forehead and sighed. She wondered how Naruto could say all the right things one moment, but still be such an idiot the next. "I think what he means is…"

"I'm not saying that at all Hinata." Naruto cut Sakura off. He didn't want someone else trying to cover him or put words in his mouth. It felt strange to him, he knew just a few months ago he would have gladly let her speak for him and agreed with her no matter what she said. "What I'm saying is there is strength in numbers. If I had my way we'd go looking for all the both of their teams and go as one collective pack." He shook his head. "But the chances of finding them are very slim, so that's not a workable plan."

"I…" Hinata brushed her eyes with her sleeve, not wanting to look weak in front of the others. "I have a seal tag…and so does Neji." She paused as she realized everyone was looking at her. "It's for signaling the other seal tag. Kind of like a distress flare, but more covert." She looked down again as she saw Naruto's eyes light up. "It can only be used once though." The revelation left people in their own thoughts for a few moments.

"If signaled for nothing, you will not have it if a need for it should arise." Sai's remark cut through the silence. "There are advantages to each method, but there are costs as well."

Kiba nodded at the analysis. "We've already got a big group. Shinobi teams are designed for four people so you have enough backup, but are small enough to not get noticed." He looked over at Naruto. "So while we might have really good offensive force from joining up with the other teams…"

"Having a team of six, nine, or twelve, as you're suggesting would be asking for trouble." Shino finished. "If there are indeed hunter-nin after those of the Hyuuga bloodline, a team that large would be inadvisable to maintain our cover."

"And if you are confronted?" Naruto demanded curtly. "Some of these guys can take on S-ranked missing-nin. What good is one team of almost-chunin going to do against an opponent like that?"

"If they are good enough to take on S-rank _nuke-nin_, what makes you think four teams of 'almost-chunin' will do any better?" Sai asked calmly.

On the surface the argument made sense, but Sakura had been a member of Team Seven long enough to know there was always something more below the surface. "That chakra Naruto used before, was the same one I felt in Wave Country on the bridge." She thought to herself. "Be cause of that chakra, the boy that almost killed Sasuke-_kun_ was defeated. Even Kakashi-_sensei_ and the man with the giant sword seemed worried about it." She looked over at Naruto again in silence. "If Naruto is there, there may really be no problem with hunter-nin." She frowned slightly. "Naruto…why do you always try to do everything yourself."

"I agree with them." Hinata's hands twiddled anxiously in her lap. "In this circumstance the best thing to do is to hide in plain sight and beat them at their own game."

Sakura blinked in surprise. She knew Hinata was capable of such thoughts and plans, but she so rarely voiced them. "What do you intend to do?"

"We know about their plan now." Hinata continued. "But we don't know if they know that we know."

Kiba shook his head. "What?"

"The hunter's might not know that they've been compromised…" Naruto whispered in understanding.

Hinata nodded. "So if we all get together, they'll know something is wrong and come at us full force. If we pretend nothing is wrong…"

"Then there is a chance we can get the drop on them first." Kiba grinned. "I like this plan already."

"That will only buy us so much time." Shino pointed out. "The best way to go is to get a scroll and head for the check point. Too much can happen under the guise of the exam. Though it is to a limited extent, there is more safety in being right under their noses that out here."

Naruto nodded slightly and cast a look between Sakura and Sai. He needed their approval for this, and begged silently. As he had expected, Sai shrugged with indifference.

"If that's the best course of action, you should take this and go." Sakura sighed and reached into her hip pouch. "Head for the checkpoint and get word to the _jounin-sensei_. We won't be targets so we can move around easier to get another one and we might be able to warn the others along the way."

Kiba took the scroll that Sakura offered and looked between it and his teammates. "I…don't know what to say." He tapped the end of the scroll gently as he though over the plan.

"We can't accept that." Hinata shook her head. "There aren't enough scrolls for all the teams to pass. This would risk you failing the exam."

"This is no longer about the exam Hinata."

The girl jumped as the blonde spoke. "Naruto-_kun_?"

Naruto nodded. "The instant that I found out about the hunter-nin, this exam became secondary. All that matters to me right now is keeping you, your family, and our friends and teammates safe."

Hinata blushed brightly. "Why?"

"Because we're all _Konoha-nin_." Kiba replied with a grin. "Just like he said earlier. We have to watch each other's backs."

Hinata looked around at the other's as they nodded in agreement. She held out her hand and took the scroll, tucking it away in her jacket for safe keeping. At last her eyes came to rest on Naruto. "_Arigatou_ Naruto-_kun_."

Naruto grinned and interlaced his fingers behind his head. "Nothing to thank me for." He scratched the back of his head gently. "To be honest, I'm still not thrilled with this plan." He grinned at Hinata. "But even a great future Hokage like me can't do everything himself. So you guys have to make sure you get to safety and let Kakashi-_sensei_ and the others know what's going on. And I know I can count on you guys."

Sakura bit her tongue. Hard.

Hinata was sure her face was going to pop right open from all the blood rushing to her head because of Naruto's praises. She looked down to keep from passing out, but nodded her head. "_Hai_…you can count on us."

Naruto rose from his seat and walked over to the entrance of the cave. "The rain will carry on a while I bet. We should rest while we can, go our separate ways in the morning." He sat down again right at the edge of the waterline. "I'll take first watch."

Shino nodded. "Then I will…"

"I'll take second watch." Hinata spoke up suddenly, then abruptly dropped off. She couldn't tell the others that she wanted Naruto to be the one to wake her up, or that she was hoping to get to talk with him as they changed positions. "It's just…_ano_…there's still some light right now, but the next shift will have almost none since the moonlight won't get through the clouds. I'll have the best range of vision during that time."

Sai turned and found a spot of moss on the ground. "I have no objection to that." He lay down on the moss and turned his back to the group. "Wake me when it is my shift."

"I'm not one to complain about some extra uninterrupted sleep." Kiba moved away and lay down on the bare stone of the floor, strangely enough curling up like a dog would. Akamaru then jumped on his back, circled three times, and also lay down to sleep. He barked once and then both master and pet remained quiet.

Shino looked at Hinata once more before shrugging his shoulders. He crossed silently to one of the walls of the cavern and sat with his back against it. One would have to look very carefully to see the change in his breathing to reveal that he was actually sleeping. It was slightly unnerving to discover that the bug user essentially looked indistinguishable either asleep or awake.

Sakura pulled a small silver object from her pouch and unfolded it to reveal that it was a thermal emergency blanket. She carried an extra one in case of such occasions, so she didn't have to worry about not having another if an emergency did come up. She wrapped herself in the foil-like cloth and lay down, facing away from Naruto and the others.

Hinata was the last one to ready herself for bed. She pressed her back against the cave wall a short distance from where Naruto sat looking out into the storm and pulled her knees to her chest. Most didn't know it but her jacket had a fair degree of elasticity and she made use of it now to pull her coat down over her legs. Hinata rested her head on her knees and turned to watch Naruto until her eyes could no longer remain open.

Naruto watched them all as they drifted off in the realms of sleep. He scooted back a bit and leaned against the ridge of the cave opening. When he was sure that his friends were truly asleep he brought his hands up into a familiar cross shaped seal. "_Kage bunshin no jutsu_." The smoke rose out into the open air, but was quickly dissipated by the rain. Naruto directed two clones to the back of the cave to watch that entry. One clone remained seated beside him while another clone went to the other side of the front entrance. The remaining five clones Naruto sent out into the storm to set up watch points to act as an early detection system. When everyone was in place he folded his legs one over the other and cupped his hands in his lap. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He began to stretch his sense out, finding he could now go much farther thanks to these strange enhancements, and settled in for a long night.

OOOOO

Hinata awoke sometime later to the smell of ramen, sweat, and what vaguely resembled musk. Her head lifted slowly and she saw orange. It took her a few moments, and the rubbing of sleep from her eyes, to realize that Naruto's jacket was draped over her like a blanket. She looked around quickly and found multiple copies of her crush in various positions around the cave. She quickly zoned in on the only one without a jacket.

He sat at the center of the entrance just short of the waterline cause by the now subsiding rain. His brilliant blue eyes reflecting the faint rays of light that fought to cut through the remaining gray clouds. He shifted ever so slightly as he heard the change of breathing behind him. "_Ohaiyo_ Hinata."

Hinata rose on stiff legs and walked over to where Naruto sat, still clutching his coat around her smaller frame. "Aren't you cold?" She asked concerned.

Naruto turned his head to face the girl. "Nope, meditation is really good for stuff like that. You learn to block all that out." He smiled. "Besides, you looked chilly shivering in the corner like that."

Hinata blushed slightly, having not considered that Naruto might watch her while she was sleeping, let alone act so generously towards her. She sat beside him, though made sure to give him some space, and looked out into the lessening storm. "I suppose it's my turn for watch."

Naruto shrugged. "The sun will rise pretty soon. I'll finish the watch if you want to sleep a little longer."

Hinata looked quickly between the boy and the clouds. She activated her_kekkai genkai_ and saw that the moon was almost vanished and there was a faint light coming from the horizon. Though the light was so faint even to her unique bloodline did mean that it would be a few hours until it actually reached them. "Why didn't you wake me?" Her voice was quiet as her eyes returned to normal. "Why did you take watch the whole night?"

"Because, I wouldn't have been able to sleep anyway." Naruto replied with a sad smile, though he quickly replaced it when he realized what he must look like. "I just figured, it would make more sense to let you guys get more rest rather than just lay in fake sleep for hours on end."

Hinata watched Naruto quietly for a few moments. "But what about you? We're going right to the checkpoint, you could still be out here for days. You need the sleep more."

Naruto shook his head. "Nah, I'll be ok. It's just like…"

Hinata could only feel sad for him as she watched Naruto tense up and go silent. "What is it Naruto?" She felt her face warm slightly as his eyes flitted over to her for a moment.

"You promise you won't tell?"

Hinata nodded. "_Yakusoku_."

Naruto broke eye contact with Hinata and traced some designs across the stone floor with his fingers for a time. He didn't know why he was doing this. Hinata was always so kind and helpful but… "I've never told anyone this." He began to speak. "Not Sakura-_chan_ or even Kakashi-_sensei_."

Hinata gasped slightly, honored that Naruto would trust her with such a secret.

"You know how back at the academy I always got in trouble for playing pranks?"

Hinata nodded, giggling lightly. "I remember the day you and Kiba-_kun_ put crazy glue on Iruka-_sensei's_ chair, making him rip his pants when he stood up to quickly."

Naruto laughed at the memory of Iruka standing at the front of the class with ripped pants and his exposed heart-print boxers visible to the world. "Yeah that was a pretty good one." Naruto knew he couldn't tell Hinata the whole truth, he didn't want to scare her like he did Sakura, yet he still wanted to talk about this for some reason. "But do you remember how angry he got?" He waited as he saw Hinata nod, trying to figure out how to continue. "When I was younger, before I knew any of you guys…I used to prank the other villagers."

Hinata heard the sad tone of his voice, as well as noticed that his eyes were shifting rapidly. She remembered the lessons she had asked Neji to give her after they were on better terms. "He's lying…" She thought silently. "A white lie, maybe to hide what really happened, but still."

"Sometimes, the pranks were really bad." Naruto continued, not realizing what Hinata had discovered. "And people would get really mad and come after me to get even." He paused a moment. "I got beat up a lot. It got to the point I was afraid to got to sleep at night. I'd sit huddled in a corner with my pillow hugged to my chest, trying to stay awake the whole night in case someone came looking for me."

She continued to watch his eyes. She had heard of Naruto's pranks sometimes when she was younger, but none were ever bad enough to warrant a beating. Never mind a beating on a child. Plus if he wanted the beatings to stop, all he had to do was stop pranking people all together. Hinata knew he was telling the truth about the villagers, but he was omitting something big from the story. "It's not my place to push him…" She thought as she nodded for Naruto to continue.

"After a while, I got good at sleeping lightly." Naruto smiled. "But then I'd wake up at ever little sound, so I'd still be tired the next day. That was when I got really good at it."

"It?" Hinata questioned.

"It's like meditation, but not quite." Naruto explained. "You let half your mind sleep while the other keeps look out, then you switch them."

"Naruto-_kun_…you can't have only half your brain sleep." Hinata countered. "It's a medical impossibility."

Naruto scratched his head. "Really? I guess it's just a half-sleep state then all around." He shrugged. "Either way, it let me get enough sleep, but I also got enough warning when I had to run away. It's a pretty handy skill at times like this."

Hinata felt her skin crawl at the actions of the other villagers, and gained even more respect for Naruto that he was able to simply brush it off like that. At the same time she couldn't help but think about a scroll she had read about the effects of sleep deprivation on _jounin_ on long term missions as Naruto finished. "To be so young and have to deal with that…" She thought with a shake of her head.

Naruto noticed Hinata's movement and smiled. "But I'm probably boring you right now. You should get a bit more rest Hinata."

"Do you…never sleep then?" She asked timidly.

His face scrunched in thought. "Well…after I became a ninja and got on Team Seven, I started to sleep because I knew I could trust my team." His sad expression returned and this time seemed unable, or perhaps unwilling, to shake it. "Then all this stuff with Sasuke-_teme_ happened and…" Naruto shook his head violently and his smile reappeared. "Guess it's a good thing that I have this weird sleep thing."

Hinata's chest ached as she saw Naruto's fake smile reappear. "I know I'm only in training as a med-nin, but I would like for you to try and get some sleep." Her voice was soft but insistent. "It's not healthy for you to go so long without a true sleep. I don't want to see you fall ill." She smiled at him. "I would be a very bad friend to let that happen to you when you've done so much to help me."

Naruto was a bit taken aback by Hinata's statement and he found himself staring at her. This wasn't the shy Hinata he had spoken to at the training fields before his match with Neji. Nor was it the teaching Hinata that had worked with him under Daiki's orders. It wasn't even the determined Hinata he had seen in the prelim battles who had something to prove. It was just her, a friend concerned for another friend. "I would, but, I won't be able to sleep."

Hinata blushed furiously under his intense gaze. "M-maybe I could help you…"

Naruto's head turned to one side. "How?"

"There was…" Hinata fidgeted slightly. "There was a lullaby…my mother used to sing it when my father couldn't get to sleep. I used to hear it though the _shoji_ doors, so I still remember it." She smiled, somehow looking both sweet and shy, at Naruto. "It always seemed to work for him. Perhaps…"

Naruto doubted that a simple lullaby would let him sleep, but Hinata looked so set on it. He didn't have the heart to simply tell her no, so he nodded. Laying down on the ground from where he sat he attempted to find a comfortable position. "How were you guys able to sleep so easily on this stone? A bed of nails would be more comfortable." He joked.

Hinata swallowed hard as an idea came to her mind. Summoning ever once of courage she had she scooted herself up near Naruto's head. "We-we'll have to do something about that then…I-if you're to get any decent sleep." She knelt down and crouched into a _seize_ position, thankful for the first time in her life that her father made her master that position. She lifted Naruto's head gently and set him down on her legs, turning herself into a pillow for him. "B-better?" She asked nervously as her face turned bright red.

Naruto's face also reddened quite a bit. "Y-yeah." He looked down and out to where the rain had finally stopped. Looking up at Hinata made him feel weird for some reason. It wasn't a bad feeling, but he wasn't sure he trusted it completely either. His mind slowly started to drift as he heard the faint melody.

Though Hinata knew the song by heart, she found she was shaking too much to trust her voice to speak the words. Instead she began to hum softly. At first it was only to herself, but it gradually picked up and she found herself humming the basic tune of the old lullaby. The humming soon turned to the gentle singing of chords of music, but no lyrics as of yet.

Naruto was finding it harder and harder to keep his eyes open. "Her voice, is really pretty." He thought sleepily, not wanting to interrupt her music. "Why does she always…speak so timidly…when she…sounds…like…this…"

Hinata smiled down at him as she watched Naruto's eyes began to close. She could see his whole body relax even as she felt his neck muscles loosen by her knees. Knowing he wouldn't be awake much longer she began to sing.

_Softly I sing, to you, my king_

_I hope that you sleep so soundly_

Naruto's eyes closed, losing himself into Hinata's song. It scared him. He was a ninja, supposed to be able to react at a moment's notice.

_I am right here, don't wake my dear_

_Sleep well and I'll comfort you quietly_

He shouldn't have allowed himself to be taken in. Maybe this time they were safe, but what if someone had impersonated Hinata. His guard was down, she could easily slit his throat, but…he couldn't ever remember a time he had felt so protected.

_Dream of your land, of waves on the sand_

_Your thrown overgrown with wildflowers_

Naruto let himself go and the realm of dreams readily claimed him as he was long over due. His head lolled to the side slightly, a small smile on his face. His eyes began to move rapidly under closed lids, his dreams influenced by Hinata's words.

_Dream of the light, casting shadows at night_

_Gentle rain drops and silver showers_

Hinata smiled as she watched Naruto sleep. She looked around and saw that the clones had fallen asleep as well, at least until the dispelled with the slipping of Naruto's concentration to maintain them. She knew she should be watching for attacking shinobi teams, but Hinata allowed herself one moment more of distraction. Carefully, so as not to wake him, she shifted Naruto's _hitai-ate_ up off his forehead. She giggled as his hair spilled down around is face without anything holding it back. Parting his hair slightly to see his face better she went about memorizing every aspect of his face. "He's looking less like a kid…" She realized. "More like…a young man…"

Hinata began to lean forward, closer and closer to Naruto. She stopped suddenly when she realized her lips were scant inches from his and pulled back. A blush crept slowly up her face as she realized what she had almost done, a small smile also began to show itself on her face. "I don't have enough courage for something like that." She whispered as she leaned forward again. "But I can give you this for luck, in the hopes it keeps you safe." She gently kissed Naruto's forehead and pulled back, her face redder than Gaara's hair.

Shaking away her distractions for the moment, and attempting to calm her jack hammering heart, Hinata turned her attention to the cave opening. Activating her _Byakugan _she scanned the area for a few minutes making sure they were safe. She deactivated her bloodline shortly after so as not to exhaust her chakra. She decided to activate her enhanced sight on a random time basis in case any enemies were nearby trying to figure out her pattern.

Hinata continued to watch over her friends as she waited for the sun to rise in a few hours. A smile turned her lips as the clouds finally cleared and she was able to see the stars again. Despite her thoughts of keeping her full attention on her guard duty, Hinata's hands kept returning comb gently through Naruto's hair. She couldn't help but feel a bit warm inside that he seemed to sigh in pleasure each time she did that. The young girl would regret when this night ended, but she was determined to make the most of this simple contact while she could.

OOOOO


End file.
